


For Her Future

by orphan_account



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: AU, Aged-Up Character(s), Cabin Group gets developed for once, Carver backstory, Dark, Drama, Enemies to Friends, Family, Friendship, Gen, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Lee Lives, Rewrite, Romance, Ships undecided, Swearing, There's a lot of enemies to friends, Tragedy, bro i just want my characters to be loved please, long fic, specifically cabin group they really got the shit end of the stick, very minor romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-11-17
Packaged: 2019-01-26 03:45:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12548100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Lee and Clementine never made it to Hershel's farm. Instead, The duo spent a year traveling on their own until they came across Howe's Hardware, where Lee soon realizes he'll have to work up into William Carver's inner circle if he wants he and Clementine to be safe.In which Lee and Clementine went a different path, never meeting any of the main S1 characters and instead becoming members of Howe's Hardware.





	1. The Boy In The Woods

**Author's Note:**

> I want to start off with a warning. This story doesn't have a beta, and even though I've tried my best to edit all this myself, things are going to slip past me, that's a fact. So be prepared for mistakes, I really do try my hardest to fix them. This was something I thought of not long ago when I was trying to imagine what the Cabin Group's opinion of Lee would have been if they met him. 
> 
> In this story, none of the events of season one other than Lee meeting Clementine have happened. Lee hasn't met Kenny, Christa, Ben, Lilly or anyone but that doesn't mean he never will. Clementine has also been aged up to being 10 when she met Lee. At the beginning of this fic, she is 11 going on 12.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Feel free to leave any constructive comments, as long as your not an asshole about it, I actually appreciate them.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alone and starving, Lee and Clementine come across someone who might be able to help them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to start off with a warning. This story doesn't have a beta, and even though I've tried my best to edit all this myself, things are going to slip past me, that's a fact. So be prepared for mistakes, I really do try my hardest to fix them. This was something I thought of not long ago when I was trying to imagine what the Cabin Group's opinion of Lee would have been if they met him. In this story, none of the events of season one other than Lee meeting Clementine have happened. Lee hasn't met Kenny, Christa, Ben, Lilly or anyone but that doesn't mean he never will. Clementine has also been aged up to being 10 when she met Lee. At the beginning of this fic, she is 11 going on 12.
> 
> I don't know exactly where I will be taking this fic yet. Which means I'm definitely going to be taking any suggestions I feel would work to the story.

**For Her Future**

Chapter 1: The Boy In The Woods

 

* * *

Cloudy eyes struck with fear warily searched the area surrounding him, the pouring rain nearly blinding his vision, as well as deafening him with the constant pitter-patter of water drops hitting the ground below. It would be the perfect time for a walker to sneak up on him, but his frail, fatless body would not be much of a meal. Old and withered shoes sunk into the mud of the trail he followed, making the simple act of walking much more difficult than it needed to be, and did not do anything for his already damaged mood.

He hoped Clementine was safe.

He was sure she would have had no problem on her own back at their "shelter," she was a quick learner, and he had taught her to the best of his ability, to hide and run if anything were to happen. The thought still haunted him, even the most capable could be caught at the wrong time, he tried his hardest to quicken the pace, but only tripped into the mud, making himself even dirtier and soaked by the rain and mud.

Sometimes he thought about letting Clementine go, he had done all he could for her, protected her, hunted for her, stitched wounds for her, he even cut her hair to keep walkers from getting to her. He was sure she'd do fine, if not better, with someone else, a mother, a family, without him. He didn't want to leave her, not ever, he loved that child as if she were his own, but every time her bright innocent eyes gazed up with at him, every time she smiled at him as if he were her hero, he could only think one thing…

Murderer.

Lee Everett the murderer.

Was he truly fit to take care of this child? Could he protect her? He didn't know. He'd been able to so far, but they were both starving, they hadn't eaten a thing in days, and Lee was returning to camp without a single buck or rabbit or  _anything_  in hand.

Again. Another unsuccessful hunt.

The look on Clementine's face said it all, eyebrows curved in sympathy, mouth lined with disappointment, she didn't say anything, but he knew she was thinking it. She wrapped her arms around her legs and pulled them up to her chin, the hood of the sweater too large for her body over her head, she shivered as the fire had likely gone out with the rain long ago.

Lee sat by her side, wrapping an arm around her as he watched the rain fall.

Was this it? After nearly a year together, they were going to just die in a forest, starved to death? He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, but he held himself together, for her. Only for her.

The thunder crackled loudly, echoing through the forest, he felt Clementine's body stiffen as a loud shriek came after. Not a walker, a person.

"What was that?" She asked, her voice shaky.

"Sounds like someone's in trouble…" Lee stood up then, the scream had sounded close.

Clementine stood up with him. "Can we help them?"

Lee had no idea how he had been able to keep Clem so innocent and trusting, Lee was understandably wary of others, but Clementine always wanted to help those in need, they had given food to strangers more than a few times. Never would he let them stay with the two, however, out of fear of what they would do, especially if they knew who he was. Teaching Clem to shoot had always crossed his mind, but every single time he would give up. He wanted Clementine to stay as she is, a hopeful, kind girl, who wanted to grow up to become an artist. Just because the world was horrible didn't mean she had to be.

"We don't know where they are, sweetpea."

Clementine pointed east. "It sounded like it was coming from over there, it can't be too far!"

Lee gave in, he always did, what type of guardian would he be if he didn't?

It wasn't too far a walk until they reached a clearing, there were about eight walkers all crowding around a young brunette man, looking to be in his early twenties. The stranger hopelessly swung a machete at one of them, only for it to get stuck in the walker's ribs. He only tried to pull a few times, before he was surrounded.

"Over here!" Lee called, trying to get the attention of the group of walkers. "Clem, hide!"

Clementine nodded obediently before running off into some bushes. The walkers turned to him as expected, and slowly trudged their way towards him, the mud seemed to slow him down, the only downside was it slowed him down too.

With him and the young man, Lee was confident they'd both be able to take them. He made eye contact with the man he had chosen to save, who looked at him with shocked almond eyes, for a moment, Lee thought he would run away and make him regret his choice to help.

But he didn't. Soon the man went into action, kicking the walker who had the machete stuck within it onto its stomach, and crushing the back of its head with his foot, pulling the weapon out with more force this time.

Lee took out his handgun and began shooting, a dangerous choice, but his best bet, the rain could hopefully drown out the shooting for the most part, and he and Clem had been planning on moving out of the area for a while, this would give them a reason to.

He had gotten three walkers down before the stranger began swinging his machete masterfully, beheading a walker well he stabbed another, falling to the ground as he stepped on it again.

With three walkers coming towards him, Lee ran out of ammunition, pulling out a wrench and hitting one of them across the head, slowing them down, but for the most part not doing much. A walker toppled over him, his arms trying it's best to push it away as it chomped at his face. Before Lee could sulk about his apparent oncoming death, the walker's head detached from its neck and fell to the ground, beheaded by the man's machete.

They were safe. Lee let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, relieved. The younger man looked down at him, his orange sweater soaked with rain and walker blood, his face relaxing into a warm smile as he extended his hand. With a smirk, Lee took it.

"I came to help you and yet you were the one who ended up saving me." Lee joked as the man helped pull him up.

"Don't be so humble, I was mumblin' my last prayers before you came out here." The man spoke with a light southern drawl, Lee was beyond thankful for the man, even if he was the reason he was in danger in the first place.

When Lee was up, he noticed the silence of the small meadow, and it seemed the rain had stopped during their confrontation.

The bushes rustled loudly, and the stranger glared at the bush warily, going into a fighting position. However, Lee's companion was the one who came out.

The young man's expression softened considerably, putting back his machete as he knelt to the ground to be at eye level with the young girl. "Well, hello there, Lil' lady."

Clementine returned his smile with a cute one of her own. "Hi."

"Names' Luke."

"I'm Clementine!"

"-And I'm Lee."

Luke stood up and put his hands on his hips. "It's been real nice to meet the both of you, y'all look hungry as hell." There was a clear pity in his voice, but Lee ignored it.

Lee chuckled. "Don't we all?"

Luke didn't say anything for a moment, as he crossed his arms and gazed at the ground, he seemed deep in thought. "You two on your own?" He finally said, his expression was a careful one, but Lee could see the suspicion in the man's eyes.

Lee decided to be honest, he really did seem like a kind man, but he would still be careful. "Yeah, have been since this all started. How about you?"

His face relaxed again, a smile came easily to him. "I'm actually part of a community some ways away from here."

Lee was doubtful. "Sounds like there must be tons of people."

"There is."

"Then where were they just now?"

Luke shrugged. "Got myself separated, we were out on a supply run."

Lee was silent from there, not having much to say, he glanced over at Clementine, who was smiling from ear to ear, happy to have met another person. Too bad it wouldn't last long.

"Our community's actually looking for some new-"

"Not. Interested." Lee said sharply.

Luke put his hands up, gesturing surrender. "I understand your distrust, I would be too if I were in your shoes, but you guys look starved and I can't help but want to at least make an offer, especially after you've both just helped me."

Clementine looked curious, considering the offer, but Lee knew better. "Clem and I are doing just fine on our own."

"Hey, now you know that ain't true." Luke saw through his lie, shaking his head. "Our group has loads of food and water stocked up, we have doctors, medical supplies, but we need more people for security reasons."

As if it were perfect timing, Clementine went into a coughing fit.

Luke looked towards the girl sadly. "Your girl ain't looking too good, she could very well be ill."

Lee paused, weighing his options. Clem has had that cough for weeks. If it were anything too deadly, wouldn't she have been sicker by now? He really couldn't be sure, this was dangerous. This man really did look healthy and well fed considering the circumstances, clear skin, washed hair, white teeth. He envied that. He had always thought it best to stay alone, just him and Clementine, but that choice didn't seem to be working well for either of them, they were both starving and tired, they were reaching the end of their rope. He hated having to look at Clem and tell her they would be spending another night without food.

"Who's to say you're telling the truth?"

Luke squinted at the ground, he seemed stuck on that question, but after a few moments, the man took his machete out of its holder and threw it to the ground, along with a handgun and dagger. This man really was well prepared.

"If you find I've lied to you, you can kill me."

Lee heard a tiny gasp beside him and turned to see Clementine.

"L-Lee, you wouldn't...do that, right?"

He glanced at his feet for a quick second, before meeting her amber eyes. "Of course not, sweetpea. We just need to be cautious."

"I think he's telling the truth, Lee."

That wasn't saying much, Clementine was a trusting girl, she'd trust him either way, no matter who he was. She was letting her hunger get to her.

 _"Hey!"_  A voice yelled, running through the trees into the clearing, a rifle in his hands, pointed towards Lee. "Don't you fucking dare!"

Lee put his hands up defensively, well the little girl shook beside him.

Luke turned to look behind him at the young man. "Nick! Put the gun down, man!"

The man who Luke called Nick slowly walked closer to the three of them, the rifle not losing its aim. "No way! You're unarmed! Pick your shit up!"

"I'm recruiting them."

Nick came to Luke's side, his rifle not moving. He was about a forehead taller than Luke, about the same age and seemed a little more unkempt than the other young man was, but still in far better shape than either Clementine or himself. His messy black hair poking out from his hat, the slightest bit of facial hair along his face, bright blue eyes that contrasted Luke's warm brown ones.

He scoffed. "A little girl? Yeah, a lot of help she'll be!"

That struck a chord with Lee, and he couldn't help himself from fighting back. "Fuck you." Simple, but to the point.

"See! This is ridiculous." Nick said smugly, feeling as if he had made a good point.

More people came out of the clearing, an older balding man, with a dark facial hair along his chin, and a young redheaded woman with her hair tied into a ponytail, a rifle in her hands as well, but she chose not to aim it, keeping it snug at her side.

Luke noticed the both of them as well. "Pete! Help me out here!"

"What's going on, now?" Pete mumbled, not pleased in the slightest bit.

"He's trying to recruit these two!"

Pete glanced at Clementine almost immediately, his brows lowered in sympathy, his mouth in a deep frown. He seemed to regret his words. "Luke. I'm sorry but, this is a supply run, not a recruitment."

"Come on! The dad can shoot! I've seen it myself, he saved my ass from a handful of walkers just now! He's a good guy, and he can definitely be an asset." Luke exclaimed confidently.

"Just because he saved you doesn't mean you gotta bring him into Howes." The redhead added quietly, a southern accent thicker than Lukes.

Luke sighed deeply, his face pinched with anger as he pointed at Clementine. "You really want to leave them out here? Look at them, Look at her legs, they're like twigs, this little girl is starving. You want to leave her and her father out here to die!"

Clementine shifted uncomfortably as all of the group's eyes set on her, her legs really were tiny now that he was getting a good look at them, he could probably easily wrap his hand around her calves fully. It was a scary sight, her cheekbones stuck out from her face as well, losing the fat from her face, Lee's were probably just as visible. He didn't want to imagine what she looked like under her large sweater, that covered a majority of her body.

Everyone's face went sad, depressed even at the sight. Pete's was the most devastated of them all, he swore he could see his eyes starting to water.

Except for Nick, who still wore an enraged expression. "You gotta be kidding me! You're not actually falling for this, are you? Uncle Pete!"

Pete's eyes narrowed on Nick, who seemed to be his nephew. "Shut your mouth, boy."

Nick's face fell, shocked at the treatment before lowering his rifle obediently, his face returning to one of anger, his hands balled tightly into fists, mumbling something under his breath.

Luke gave Pete a curious look as the older man walked closer to the two of them "I wanna hear from them." He whispered to his group, turning his attention to Clem and Lee. "What's your names?"

"I'm Lee, and this is Clementine."

"She your daughter?"

Lee thought about whether or not he should be honest with his answer. Luke had used the whole 'father and daughter,' thing to do most of the convincing, he wasn't sure if they would feel as bad for him if they knew Clementine wasn't his daughter. However the man in front of him seemed to be analyzing him thoroughly, if he did lie, he would likely see through it, if not, Clementine would call him out for his lie, unaware of her guardian's intentions.

"No actually, I found her when this all started and decided to take care of her, we've been on the move ever since."

"And how has that been workin' for ya exactly?" Pete wore no discernable features, nothing that could hint to Lee whether or not he was saying the right things.

Lee grimaced. "We were doing good for awhile, I could usually find some food well hunting, and there were always streams around the areas we stayed in, but no such luck lately, we've been without food for days. I was just out hunting when I found Luke."

"Yeah, why'd you help him?"

He took a deep breath, there was no going back now.

"We heard a scream not far from our camp, I try to help people when I can, but I had just been out hunting, and the scream sounded like it came from a dead man, I was tired  _and_  cautious." Lee smiled and glanced over at Clementine, putting a hand on her father's hat and patting her head happily, her golden eyes met his, she smiled back as he continued. "But Clementine here...she's a kind girl, too kind, she looked at me and immediately asked if we could go help. Who would I be to not at least check it out? Saw Luke being pushed into a corner by a handful of walkers, and I told Clementine to hide well I helped fight them off."

"That's right. He did." Luke cut in.

Pete kept his face blank for a few seconds, narrowing his eyes as they stared into Lee's, unsure what to say, Lee stayed silent. After a few seconds, Pete's face relaxed into a smile. "I think we have two fine additions to Howes!"

"Seriously?" Nick groaned in defeat before being shushed by Luke.

"You guys still good with coming…?" Luke questioned lowly, there was almost a whine in his voice, he could tell what answer the young man was looking for.

Lee was silent for what felt like a long time as he overviewed all his options a second time. Although Nick was certainly on the man's bad side, the other three seemed fine, Luke was an optimistic young man who went to great lengths just to have him and Clem be even considered by the rest of his group, it was risky, but Lee couldn't help but trust him. The red headed woman, despite knowing little about her, including her name, seemed saddened when she glanced at Clementine, he couldn't find the slightest bit of ill intent in her face. Pete appeared to share that same sympathy regarding Clem, as well as a fair bit of carefulness for his own group, and he was pleased with Lee's responses to him, it was a vigilance he felt couldn't be faked.

Lee made his decision. "I'm wary, but my girl here is skin and bones, and I want to see her fed and happy for once, and if you'll be giving her that, then by all means. I'll do whatever I can to help your group, as long as Clementine is safe."

Luke beamed as he nodded. "We'll make sure of it."

"Carver isn't gonna like this." Nick hissed.

"We need people, he'll be able to see why we brought them."

Nick rolled his eyes as he began trudging through the mud, away from the rest of the group. Pete guided the two of them through the forest, towards the highway, where a large truck with a logo saying 'Howe's Hardware' was, along with a family van.

A man who was guarding it went to speak as he noticed Lee and Clementine walking up, but Luke ran up to him, trying to calm him down. "Troy. Before you say anything-"

The look on Troy's face wasn't a good one, his eyebrows tightknit and mouth in a clear scowl, Lee decided to block out the conversation after that. Pete ignored the conversation as well, retreating to the dark leaf green van, opening the back door for them as they silently climbed in and took the seat at the very back.

Pete called out to seemingly Nick. "Get over here! You, me and Bonnie are in the van. Luke and Troy are taking the truck."

Nick responded, his tone still venomous with disgust. "But Troy and I took the truck here."

"I'm not letting you and Troy mope in a truck together, complainin' about how much you don't want Lee and Clementine here. Just get in the damn van."

"Whatever. I call shotgun."

After about half an hour, the group eventually got everything in order and settled down, Pete was in the driver's seat, Nick beside him, and Bonnie in the seat in front of Clementine and Lee. When they started driving, Lee couldn't help but feel a chill from his clothes, which were completely soaked. Clem leaned against him, laying on his chest, he could hear the soft sound of her teeth chattering. He hoped this community would have new clothes as well. Hell, he hoped this community even existed.

"How are you feeling, Clementine?" Lee whispered softly, quiet enough that the rest of the car was unlikely to hear them.

"I'm excited, but I'm also scared." Clementine uttered, a little louder than he was, but he doubted the rest of the group would have a problem with their whispering. Other than Nick, but Nick could go fuck himself for all Lee cared.

"So am I. This is our best bet, I trust these people, don't you?"

Clementine nodded. "I like Luke, he's nice, but Luke isn't here…"

"We'll be meeting up with Luke again soon, you don't have to worry."

"Okay…" Clem yawned cutely, and it was only a few minutes until she was sound asleep.

Other than Clementine and Lee's quick conversation, the car was otherwise silent and remained that way. There was clear tension between the uncle and nephew in the front seat, Lee could hear the younger man groan to himself every few minutes. If Lee wasn't a guest he'd of told the guy to shut up by now. The redhead whose name he now knew as Bonnie was reading and Pete kept his eyes on the road.

Lee's eyes were heavy, but he tried his best to keep his eyes open. He wanted to sleep, but he was still unsure of this entire situation, he was desperate enough to agree to the offer, but he still didn't trust these people completely. Who knew what they would do with them as he and Clem slept? He stroked Clementine's head, happy to see the girl relaxed and sleeping, she deserved it.

How could these people ever kill a little girl? He didn't even think hotheaded Nick would have the guts to do that.

Lee had lived a big portion of his life in peace, happy and without issue, his childhood free of the fear of being eaten by walkers. Sadly, Clementine wasn't going to have that luxury. He had come to terms with that long ago. He wanted her to live and find happiness in this terrible world, he held onto the hope that that wouldn't be an impossible thing for her. Maybe this community could bring that to her? She might even meet people her age, she might have a chance, a better chance than she would have had alone with him.

Maybe she could have a future, maybe she could be a wife, even a mother one day.

_Please…please…_

_Please tell me I made the right decision._


	2. New Places, New Faces,

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lee and Clementine take their first steps into Howe's Hardware.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, although this is almost 2000 words more than the last chapter, it was originally MUCH longer, but I was able to shorten it down a good bit. I'm still wondering whether or not I should separate the chapters. I feel like there is a lot going on one after another and I feel like having a chapter to separate all of it would do it some good. There is A LOT of character introductions here. Like, A LOT.

**For Her Future:**

Chapter 2: New Places, New Faces

* * *

 

Coffee. Lee was obsessed with coffee, not one of his students could ever catch him without a cup of coffee in hand. Waking up to a loud alarm and watching the sun rise from the windows of UGA was in no way his favorite pastime, so much so he had more than once considered a career change, one with a  _much_ later starting time. But a cup o' joe gave him that small thing to look forward to when he was stuck teaching morning classes, boosting his mood and keeping him energized.

That's all he could smell in the small office, 'Carver's Office' as Troy had told him, the distinct scent of coffee, so strong he could taste it, as well as the lingering smell of dried blood that stained his clothes. It perplexed his senses, unsure whether to be disgusted or delighted.

It was startling just how casual the quaint room looked, almost as if there weren't dead people eating the living outside the hardware building.

Feeling his fatigue get to him, Lee leaned against the comfortable office chair and rubbed his face in hopes of replenishing just the tiniest bit of his consciousness, as well as extinguish his intense terror. Now was  _not_  the time to be falling asleep. Not when he was just about to meet the man who would be leading him from this moment on, the man who would be providing a place of safety for Clementine.

Luke's words of reassurance echoed in his head. " _I'm gonna get Clementine over to our doctor, she'll be here when ya get back."_

_She better be._

Just as he felt his weariness overwhelm him on the slow path to sleep, the door of the office swung open and his body awoke, his head shooting up from the chair, the rush making his vision go blurry for a few seconds.

"Troy. Get out." A gravelly voice came from behind him and scratched at Lee's eardrum in a way that made him shift in his seat uncomfortably. Fear forced him to ignore the urge to turn his head to view the scene, He heard no response from Troy, just the sound of footsteps fading away and the door shutting.

You could hear a pin drop in the office after that, Lee still made no attempt to move, but the tension in the room was thick and even restricting in a way. He counted every second that passed without a word between the two men, one he hadn't even set his eyes upon yet. For a split second, he thought he had made a mistake, and that he was actually alone.

Until the man let out a rough sigh. "You alive or what?"

Lee could almost laugh at his sarcasm, but of course, he didn't. "Barely."

Carver chuckled quietly, finally walking past the office chair, and into Lee's sights, hands held behind his back as he slowly made his way to his own cushioned chair, never breaking eye contact with each step.

His appearance matched his voice, unsettling. A sharp thin lipped smirk on his face that Lee could not pinpoint the meaning behind, tip toeing the line of amused or conceited, surrounded by uneven gray facial hair. Hair that hung on his head dryly, messy and out of place, with equally disheveled, thick eyebrows and a broad nose that felt out of place on his face poked out between wrinkled brown eyes. They narrowed on the recent recruit, traveling up and down shamelessly, Lee felt as if he had been read like a book.

"You're funny. I like that." Carver insisted, as if he were a judge making his verdict. The minor memory of judges and courtrooms made Lees skin crawl. "That's saying a lot, I dislike most new recruits. Lee, right?"

"That's right."

He sat down, leaning on his desk. "Hmm. Lee...Lee, Lee, Lee..." He chanted as if tasting it. "A strong name."

Lee was at a loss for words, utterly confused by this man's bewildering but somewhat charismatic demeanor.

Carver continued. "So, why don't you tell me about yourself?"

"Not much to say really. I'm just another guy trying to survive."

"How about before then?"

Lee's hands balled into fists, his blunt nails digging into his palm. He had been purposely avoiding any real talks of his life outside of the apocalypse, afraid of leaving hints that could draw him to the conclusion he was Lee Everett, the criminal who was meant to be in prison before the world changed forever. He had hoped the topic could go without mention.

"My family had a business that had been passing down, wasn't really my thing though, my brother kept it going. I became a teacher instead." He answered vaguely.

Carver nodded his head with a look of interest. "I guess that explains why you're so intent to protect a little girl with no connections to you, who's nothing but another mouth to feed."

The leader wrongly assumed the male as an elementary school teacher, not that Lee would dare correct him. He didn't like that description, he's not sure whether the leader's words were intentionally insulting, but Lee bit his tongue, trying to keep his face neutral.

"According to Luke, you know how to handle yourself pretty well, better than himself at least." Lee noticed the way his face pinched when he mentioned the name of the southern boy, taking note of it. "So I'll trust his instinct, see where exactly it'll take him, but I'm gonna let you in on the way things run around here."

He steadily got up from his seat, his attention on the large window behind him that put the inner walls of the hardware store on display. Lee could remember the way his jaw dropped when faced with the multiple stockpiles of food and supplies when Troy brought him to Carver's office, as well as the glaring of the fellow survivors who guarded what might as well be the pot of gold.

He stared at Carver's back as the man spoke. "In Howe's, recent recruits are given the most life threatening tasks, hopefully, you'll be able to understand the logic behind that. You'll be doing a variety of tasks, but for the most part, you'll be an expansion worker, building and securing our walls. The more you prove your worth to me, the more say you'll have and the safer jobs you will get."

Lee didn't absorb his words, forgetting most of them right after he'd said them, waiting to hear Clementine's name, but not ever hearing it. "That's fine. What about Clementine?"

"Don't worry, the same job assigning rule doesn't apply to children, she'll have safe jobs, for now. If she doesn't pull her weight, you'll have to make up for it by working twice as hard and if Luke is right about you, that should be no issue."

He nodded, satisfied with his answers. This might just work out.

Carver turned to him. "You can go. If you see Luke, tell him to come up here. I have a few choice words for him."

Something about it had made Lee's stomach twist unsettlingly, but he ignored it, thinking his restlessness may have been playing with his imagination as well.

Shutting the door to the office, he turned the corner and was faced with a person, his heart jumping to his throat with the sudden appearance. Instinct leads his hand to the back pocket that held his handgun, or-would have, if he hadn't been stripped of his weapons once he arrived.

His mind finally realized there was no threat only seconds later, his heart still beating hard against his chest. The woman's wooden chocolate eyes stared back at him, her plush lips tugged into a confused frown, silky hair that matched her eyes barely above her shoulders and light olive skin without a single blemish. She looked as healthy as Luke and the others had, if not better.

Yeah, he just made himself look like a fool.

"Hi." She said lazily.

"Hello." Lee awkwardly replied. "You, uh, need something?"

"I need to talk to Bill-"

"Bill?"

"-and you're standing in front of his office. Could you let me through, please?" She continued, ignoring his outburst.

He felt his face heat up in embarrassment at his own stupidity, he didn't say any more, moving from his spot and watching as she opened the door, not even knocking, and walked through. He heard the sound of the door shutting behind him as he jogged down the stairwell.

Lee wouldn't have ever imagined Carver's first name being one so mundane, it sounded like the drunk uncle you run into at the family reunions. If the group who had brought him here had decided to refer to the man as 'Bill' on his way there, he would never have been so anxious about their eventual meeting.

Speaking of which, where's Clementine? Luke had sworn to him she'd be right outside waiting for him once he was out. He was rightfully skittish at the fact she was nowhere to be seen and he couldn't exactly play the waiting game outside Carver's office, that'd be a little too suspicious, and he was already being extremely careful about wronging anyone in their community. He'd have to go on some blind search for her.  _Thanks a lot, Luke._

Lee walked past the numbered aisles that silently reminded him that the place was once the average hardware store, before the nightmare that was the outbreak. The floor split and he was faced with two separate paths, the area was much darker than the rest of the room, and was probably a staff-only side for the store originally, possibly storage area, but Lee had no idea what they were using it for now.

Not having any indication of what either side would hold, he went with his intuition and turned right. The walls were lined with multiple random shopping carts, and some of the doors he passed were nailed down with wood, he thought it best not to think too hard about it and ignored them. Before he had made any decision on where he was going, he reached a dead end, with a glass door that led outside.

Okay, of all these doors, which one looks most like a doctor's office? It was a useless question, every door looked identical to the other, and Lee thought about going back to Carver's office to check if Clementine had returned.

But first, he'd checked the other side of the hallway. For the most part, all of it just mirrored the other side, the shopping carts, the doors, except for one. Instead of a blank dead end, at the end of the hall, there were double doors, a different color from the rest of the gray doors, a warm brown color, that made it stick out at the end of the hallway.

Lee thought if any of the doors lead to a doctor's office, it'd be that one, but unfortunately, when he pulled and pushed on the handle it made no movement, it was locked. He was back to square one.

He heard the sound of shuffling below him and glanced down to find the sound was produced by a thick yellow paper that he was stepping on, just slightly peeking out the bottom of the door. With his foot, he slid it slightly closer to him for a better look, and upon further inspection, it appeared the item was a file, filled with even more paper, and marked at the top with a name.

' _Margaret Randall_.' The file read.

Curiosity lead Lee to pick up and open the thing, the first of multiple papers is a picture of a middle aged woman, a slightly older man, and a small boy looking nearly as old as Clementine, standing in front of a beach side. He admired the long velvet black hair that laid on the woman's neck like a waterfall, and striking blue eyes that burn through the picture. Her features all match those of the young child beside her, who is giving a toothy grin with skin coated in freckles, having longer hair nearly reaching his shoulders, tucked behind his ears. The older man shares the same black hair, his short and almost balding, as well as the tiniest of smiles.

 _Why was something like this here?_  It looked like the average vacation picture from before the walkers, it was almost disheartening to look at, there was truly nothing to gain from its existence other than being a sad reminder. Lee, feeling as if he had seen enough, closed the file.

"Lee!" He heard the familiar voice of the little girl he was on a search for just a few moments ago.

Any sorrow produced from the nostalgic picture vanished then, a wide smile coming naturally to him. He dropped the file and kicked it back under the door, farther this time so no one else would have to come across it.

"Clementine!" He called back, he walks only a few steps before Clementine has already wrapped her arms around his waist needily, Lee returning the embrace.

Luke slowly followed behind her, a hand scratching the back of his head guiltily. "Hey...how was Carver?"

He let go of Clementine for a few moments, crossing his arms and giving Luke the signature look he had given his students for years. "Fine. He says Clem and I could stay, walked up prepared to tell her the news...but she was nowhere to be seen."

Luke grimaced. "I kept gettin' caught up showing Clementine around...and when we got to Carlos...uh...he was really busy."

Before Lee could rip into Luke too hard, Clementine exclaimed happily. "They have a comic book store, Lee! A comic book store!"

Lee smirked. "What's next, a Mcdonalds?"

Luke chuckled melodically. "Jesus, don't even mention that. Big Macs were my entire diet for like, a year."

_Hah. College kids._

Lee changed the subject. "So, what did your doctor say?"

"Uh, we didn't really get to that, He was still workin' on one of our people when we left to check on you. I'll lead ya to him now."

"Thank you," Lee said graciously, for more than just offering to lead him, but for his barely warranted kindness towards them in general, he still wasn't convinced he could truly trust the young man, but he still deserved recognition.

Luke didn't respond, only smiling tenderly at both him and Clementine as he turned to walk through the hallway. It turned out the doctor's office Lee had been searching for, was hidden amongst the identical doors, and he wondered how the hell anyone would've been able to find it without checking every single door in the hall.

When they entered the room, it was clear from the many store shelves pushed into a corner of the room, that the area wasn't originally built to be an infirmary. They made due, there were multiple pills and medical supplies on the wall shelves, a bookshelf beside a desk covered in papers as well as other typical items. Most of the room consisted of about five patio lounge chairs that a woman laid in, a small desk chair beside it, which a middle aged man sat in as he tended to the wound in the woman's leg. There was a bench off to the side where a girl slightly older than Clementine sat and read a book, well...tried to read it, her dark eyes lined by large scarlet glasses couldn't stop glancing up at the injured woman.

Lee moved to approach the doctor, the middle aged man with olive skin, dark hair, wearing a plaid shirt, but Luke put his arm in front of him.

"He doesn't like to be interrupted."

The woman, looking to be around Lee's age, groaned in pain as the man stitched up the large gash in her leg, she was plump with an afro of messy curls that was barely pinned down by her headband. She looked severely beaten up, with a swelling black eye and other scratches and bruises across her body.

"That's Tavia," Luke said, noticing where Lee's attention was. "Apparently she was trying to recruit a few people that she'd been trackin' for a little while, but it...didn't go as planned. I tend to work in the greenhouse and go out on supply runs around here, technically I'm not allowed to recruit people. Only a select few can seek people out, and Tavia's one of them."

"But you brought me and Lee," Clementine remarked.

Luke shrugged as he looked down at the little girl, grinning. "Yeah, but I'm willin' to face the consequences."

A memory came to him then. "That reminds me, Carver told me to send you to his office once I saw you…"

Luke's expression dropped in an almost comical way, his jaw locked and eyes wide, he almost looked like a lost puppy. However, something felt very serious about the look in his eye, and Lee soon exchanged a worried look with the young man.

He suddenly restored his smile. "Thanks for tellin' me."

"No problem. You gonna be alright?"

A pause. "Yeah. Yeah of course. He's probably just gonna ask me about things like your ages, how I met you guys, why I brought you, things like that. He likes having basic information on everyone."

 _If he wanted information on him, wouldn't Carver of asked back at his office?_ He was rushing out too quick for Lee to inquire anything further.

"-So, I should hightail up there before he thinks I'm ignorin' him or something. I'll see you guys later, okay?"

"Yeah, alright."

"Bye Luke!" Clementine called.

The doctor was just finishing up on Tavia when Luke had left, the woman let out a groan as she scooted off the patio chair and returned to standing. The middle aged man assisted her as she got up, letting her lean on him.

"Should I call someone down to help you?" He questioned, his voice laced in a gentle Spanish accent.

"No...I got it." She responded in an exhausted tone.

He was careful when letting go of her. "You'll have a limp for the time being, I'll call Carver and tell him to take it easy on you until you're in better condition."

Tavia paused for a few moments, a tense grimace on her face. "Fine. Alright."

Without looking at either of them, the doctor motioned his hand for Lee and Clementine to come over as he cleaned up the area. "Sarah, could you get me a cloth?" The girl jumped and closed the book she was barely reading, setting it on the bench and rushing to a nearby cabinet.

Lee passed a limping Tavia as he and Clementine approached, the long lounge chair that Tavia had once occupied was caked with new and dried up blood, he skipped over it, and lead Clementine to the one beside it.

"It's nice to make your acquaintance, my name is Carlos, I'm the doctor here."

"This is-"

"Clementine." Carlos finished.

Lee kept eye contact with Carlos. "You...know us?"

Sarah came closer to them, holding a bottle and cloth in both her hands. "Yeah! Nick came in here earlier, complaining about how Luke brought-"

"Sarah." Carlos hissed.

Her face twitched as she handed the supplies over to him, and she was quiet after that. Carlos dumped a bit of clear liquid onto the cloth and cleaned the bloodied chair.

The teenager gagged as she watched the doctor clean. "I really, really, really,  _really_  don't like blood."

"Neither do I," Clementine added. "It's...Icky."

Sarah seemed to beam like a star at the interaction, a bright smile on her face. The girl had thick black hair, and she played with it nervously when she brought her attention back to Carlos.

"What seems to be the issue?" Carlos asked once he was finished.

Lee went to explain, but Clementine ended up speaking for herself. "I've been coughing a lot for a few weeks, and my throat is really sore, and I've been having a lot of headaches..."

Carlos gave her a comforting glance as he put a hand on her forehead, he continued to question her about her symptoms and the length she has had them and not long after, concluded that what she has is only the seasonal flu. He prescribed Advil for her headaches and fever, along with some cough medicine. However he isn't allowed to give anyone medicine, and that anyone with an illness, whether temporary or permanent, must visit him every day to take their daily meds. He explained how the policy was established to prevent any of the medicine being abused or stolen by other workers. Either way, he made it clear that Clementine's illness should pass soon.

Sarah ended up pointing out Clementine's oversized sweater, asking her why she would want to wear something that wouldn't fit her. Carlos offered to get both of them new pairs of clothing, likely noticing the stains of blood and the stench they were leaving in the room. Lee was given a plain gray, pullover sweater along with a pair of jeans that were nearly an exact copy of his old ones. Clementine was handed a long sleeved black and white striped shirt with a breast pocket, and a pair of black jeans, both of which, despite being extra smalls, still hung loosely on her figure.

The sight of the tiny girl seemed to bring a question to Sarah. "Dad, when are we eating?" She innocently asked.

"Soon. Very soon."

"Thank goodness, I'm so hungry," Clementine commented.

Carlos gave her a look of pity, the same that had been given by Luke and his group earlier. In a way, Lee hated it, he felt as if her frail and weakened state was a sign of how much he had failed with keeping her alive the last week, it hurt him, but it was also one of the biggest reasons he and Clementine were in the safety of Howe's Hardware. Lee did not want Clementine to make a habit of surviving this mess through the pity of others.

"I'm sure you are, you look like you could really benefit off the nutrients, I heard from Reggie that they just started harvesting from the greenhouse. We'll probably have some fresh produce the next couple of meals." Carlos said, snapping Lee out of his trance.

"Me and Lee used to stay by a lake with tons of fish! I didn't want to eat them at first." The girl recalled.

"I think we all miss the time when we used to be able to have preferences on what we ate."

Sarah sat by her father, there was no room for her near the group but despite that, she went as far as to sit on the ground well the rest sat in office chairs or lawn chairs, seeming desperate to be part of the discussion. "Wyatt once told me about a time he was so hungry, he ate a  _living_  earwig!"

"Ew!" Clementine squealed childishly.

"Sarah, this is not a conversation to be having when we're about to eat!" After reprimanding his daughter, Carlos mumbled the rest of his sentence, more to himself than anyone else. "I swear, the next time I hear him telling you one of his 'adventures'..."

* * *

It was only minutes later that Carlos was leading Lee and Clementine, alongside Sarah, to Howe's lunchroom. It was a rather compact space, with a little more than a dozen picnic tables across the room and a long buffet table bolted to the wall. There were multiple small bowls of pasta with cut tomatoes in it. It looked so delicious if he were told Carver had laced them all with poison, goddamn...he'd still eat it. However, Carlos informed Lee that everyone was allowed one bowl. It was clear by the two guards, one of them being a very pissed off looking Troy, sitting on each side of the table, that if anyone tried to take any more than that, they'd be torn to shreds.

Carlos mentioned something about the four being lucky to get there so early because they'd get to pick the best of the batch, but Lee and Clementine chose the first bowls they laid their eyes upon and were already twirling their forks into the pasta. Standing beside them, the father inspected each bowl on the table as if he were trying to find the culprit in a police lineup. After what felt like forever, he finally chose two bowls for him and his daughter.

Sarah pulled on the sleeve of Clementine's new shirt. "Sit with us! We can be friends!"

Lee glanced at the two girls, he had never seen Clementine with someone near her age before, she was secluded in her treehouse when he found her and during their journey, they had always run into adults and adults only. Based on the wide smile that tugged at her cheeks, she was very eager to talk and make friends, he couldn't help but mirror her elated expression.

Sneaking a glance at Carlos, it was clear he didn't share Sarah's thoughts, his face twisting uneasily, he let out a sigh, before his facial features relaxed, giving into his daughter's desires. "Yes, you're both new here, you are welcome to sit at our table if you'd like."

If Lee were to sit with anyone in the community that he'd come across so far, he'd want it to be Luke, but he didn't want to take away the potential of Clementine making a new friend.

Something about the whole 'who are we gonna sit with at lunch!?' ordeal gave Lee some highschool flashbacks that he'd rather push to the back of his mind.

"That'd be great, thank you."

They sat at a table farthest from the door, at the other end of the lunchroom, Sarah and Lee sat on either side of Clementine, and Carlos sat across from them. It wasn't long until the room started filling with random members of the community he didn't recognize.

Clementine didn't know how to properly eat pasta, mostly just shoving the noodles in her mouth like a small child. So other than eating he spent most of the beginning ten minutes of lunch teaching her the art of 'fork twirling.' The food may have been undercooked slightly but Lee couldn't care less, he was done with his bowl in under two minutes.

It wasn't long until Luke and Pete had come marching towards them, a slouching Nick trailing slowly behind them, much to Lee's agitation. Icy eyes glared over at him, neither happy to see the other, but Lee didn't give him the time of day, keeping his gaze on Clementine as she robotically spun her fork in her bowl.

Luke took a seat across from Lee, Nick and Pete following beside him. "How's it goin' you two?"

Lee turned to make a comment on the misadventures of Clementine and her bowl of pasta with fresh tomatoes. Instead, he was left with his mouth agape, gawking at the man. Luke's swollen face is covered in multiple red welts and his lip appeared to be split, oozing small drops of blood that he was constantly licking away. His bruises would have gained their purple and blue colors by now, everything was recent.

However, Luke's face never once faltered, his teeth shined through his grin, his eyes squinted gleefully, and his voice stayed steady and cheerful.

"Jesus, Luke, what the hell did that guy do to you?"

Luke shifted in his seat. "Carver ain't got nothing to do with it, got myself in a fight."

Carlos piped up. "A fight? With who?"

"Uh...A guy...from outside. Yeah...he was trying to get in and threatening Carver and...yeah."

Glancing at Pete, the man raised a brow and gave Lee a knowing look, so far it had become clear to him that Luke's fatal flaw was lying, or at least it seemed like it, but the former teacher couldn't figure out whether or not that was a good or bad thing.

Something else that was clear to him now, is that Carver had something to do with it. He was equally unaware of how he felt about that, but he could feel the pasta he had just shoved down his throat making its way back up.

"You alright, Lee? Want some water?" Luke pulled a water bottle out of the bag slung over his shoulder.

Lee gulped, trying to remove his paranoia. "Luke...Be honest with me. What happened?"

"It's like I said, Lee."

"You're a bad liar."

Luke's jaw went slack, as if about to speak, but no words came out, his mouth shut again, as he seemed to avoid Lee's eyes. He knew he was being pushy, but he really did have every reason to be, he had been able to have a little bit of faith in this place, but not if Carver had caused something like this.

"Lu-"

"Hey, leave him alone!" Nick cut in, sneering at the older man.

"Look I'm jus-"

He stood as his hand slammed into the table forcefully, silencing the rest of the table. "No. You're being a nosy ass, so screw off!"

Although he had a lot to say about his hatred for Nick in his head, Lee didn't want to fight Nick, he wasn't that type of person, especially to someone younger than him. However, the way Nick's skin went red with anger and his nostrils flared told Lee he did not share the same ideology as him.

"Sit down," Pete ordered.

Nick did not move or even glance at his uncle.

Luke followed shortly after, his voice gentler. "Nick, it's okay, man. Just sit down…"

Things went silent, and Lee glanced at the young girl beside him to see her quietly observing their argument rather intently, as well as Carlos and Sarah for that matter, he may have even caught a few eyes from the tables near them.

He decided to direct his attention back to Clementine. "Hey, Clem, you doing okay?"

She drew her bottom lip between her teeth. "Yeah. I finished my food."

"Was it good?"

"Yep."

The group slowly started to return back to normal, Sarah and her dad getting into a conversation of their own, but Pete, Nick, and Luke ate soundlessly.

"Lee…?" Clementine whispered softly, like most child whispers, the table could probably hear her hushed voice.

"Yes, sweetpea?"

"...Are we in trouble?"

Lee despised the fear he heard in her voice. "Why would you say that?"

"That guy yelled at you, and Luke's hurt...is it because of us?"

Luke spoke promptly. "Clem, no. You and you're da-you and Lee have absolutely nothing to do with this, okay?"

"...Okay."

Lee wrapped a comforting arm around her, for a moment, he thought she might start crying, however, she simply leaned against him, responding to a few friendly questions from Sarah.

He peeked past the faces of Nick and Luke to the other side of the room and caught the staring eyes of a woman in a table farther back. Further inspecting her, she appeared to be the same woman who he had come across when leaving Carver's office. Her eyes did not waver, even when he returned her stare, much to his surprise, she smirked, he held back a burst of laughter at her peculiar reaction. She might have been a little younger than him, but nevertheless, she was a pretty woman and an odd one.

"Lee." Pete pushed the man out of his thoughts.

"What?"

"Who ya starin' at?"

"What!?" Lee repeated.

"I know that look anywhere. Who is it? We could put a good word in for ya." Pete teased, glancing over his shoulder in an attempt to find the target of his affections, leaving Lee unsure whether to take the man seriously or not.

When Luke got into the conversation, he knew he was doomed. "Come on" He hollered. "I won't tell, I'll even give you some pointers."

"Pointers?" Nick snorted. "For what? How to make a woman despise you in five sentences or less?"

Lee confessed in an attempt to end the bickering, knowing full well there was no chance of the men dropping the subject at this point. "Okay. I don't know her name-"

"Well, that's a good sign," Pete added sarcastically.

"-but she's the short haired brunette in the back over there. Be subtle."

Completely ignoring his final comment, the three men proceeded to whip their heads around dramatically. This really was like highschool.

" _Carley_?" Luke asked, astonished.

"Is that her name?"

"Hell no, not Carley. Don't fuck with her." Nick warned.

"Why?"

"She's Carver's bitch." Came a different voice who stood at the end of their table. He turned to it along with the rest of the men, a woman's almond eyes squinted down at them, her ample lips set in a deep pout.

"Rebecca. Hey." Luke greeted, his lips set straight.

She nodded towards Luke, before setting her attention to the older man and the little girl beside him. "You must be Lee and Clementine."

Before Luke could give her any form of response, Rebecca's face twisted at the sight of the younger man. "Luke, the hell happened?"

He sighed tiredly, seemingly irritated at the recurrent mention of the terrible state he was in. "Long story. I'll let you know after lunch."

Rebecca dropped the subject, shaking her head as she continued, the curls of her afro moving with her. "Anyway, Carley got stuck in the pen after she got caught sneaking around trying to steal some shit. She's been kissing Carver's ass ever since."

Lee raised a brow, he had no reason not to trust the information he was being given, even if this were his first time speaking to Rebecca. No one in his group, that he at this point held the most belief in, had called her out for lying. However, that was not the impression he had gotten from the woman at all, sure he looked like an idiot in front of her during their first meeting, but she was a short and slim woman, with a harmless air to her. He searched for Carley in the spot they had first had their silent interaction, a table at the other side of the room. She had vanished from her original seat.

"Saw her just walkin' out of Carver's when I went to go see him earlier," Luke said as he continued to dig into his meal.

"What do you think she told him this time?"

"I don't know." He replied with a shrug.

Lee surveyed the entirety of the room, tons of faces seemed to mix together and look the same, except for her, who to him, stuck out amongst the crowd.

She stood near the entryway, leaning against the wall with crossed arms well gentle eyes made their way around the room. He didn't try to halt her from meeting his gaze. He could feel the soft twitch of his lip, trying his hardest to pull back a smile at the woman, but she looked straight through him. With a few final glances, she spun on her heel and strutted through the door. He could hear the drowned out voices of the men he sat with, calling his name, but his stare never left her.


	3. Seperation Anxiety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine begins her first steps to becoming more independent and capable without Lee, but Carver decides to quicken the process.

**For Her Future:**

Chapter 3: Seperation Anxiety

* * *

 

When the sky was enveloped by black, covered in the white specs of stars, an announcement was made for everyone who did not have night shifts to head to bed. The man from before named Troy, who she and Lee had only seen for a few brief moments earlier, alongside the redheaded woman, called for them to come over so they could find out where they would sleep. The arm around her went stiff and Clementine could feel the way her guardian's body tensed before walking to them.

She held onto Lee's sweater tightly as they approached, Bonnie's tired blue eyes met hers and she extended a hand. "Come with me."

She took a step away from her, biting her lip in confusion. Most adults addressed Lee, not her, she may have preferred it that way. A frigid breeze met her neck and shoulders when Lee's arm slipped off of her, she turned her attention to him and watched as he walked away from her and toward Troy.

"Lee?"

"I have to go now, sweetpea. Don't stay up and get lots of sleep, I'll see you soon."

The realization hit her like a splash of ice cold water. Ever since they had first met, he was by her side. She had spent many of her nights alone in her treehouse wide awake, the fear of the monsters figuring out their way up was always on her mind. The horrors remained for her first weeks with Lee, eventually, though, he was able to give her the sense of security she longed for. If there were walkers, he'd save her, if there were bandits, he'd defend her, if there were nightmares, he'd hold her. Clementine had never even thought of the idea of spending a night without him. She had been told beforehand by Luke that everyone's sleeping arrangements were separated by gender, it didn't sound as scary then, it hadn't really hit her but now it was, and it was hitting her hard.

Her eyes stung with the salt of her oncoming tears, her shoulders shook and shuddered, her throat went dry and her lips chapped. Lee made the move to come towards her, but Troy roughly pulled on his shoulder and commanded he follow him.

Lee looked over his shoulder at Clementine, and she reached out for him, he did not move to grasp onto her hand. "It'll be okay, Clementine, I promise you." With that, he was off.

She ran after him, she had to, but Bonnie had blocked her before she could really make any distance. Then she was screaming and the woman was panicking, she knew she was being troublesome but she couldn't stop, she needed him, he couldn't leave her. What if something happened?

Familiar faces started showing up, starting with Nick, who regarded her with not the slightest drop of sympathy. "Hey, kid! You need to shut the fuck up, okay? Do you want to get us all in shit!?"

Pete appeared beside him, his face angled with a rage she'd never seen in the man. "How dare you speak like that? Do you have no empathy, Nick?" He said sternly.

His harsh words made her all the more desperate, she shimmied out of Bonnie's grasp and shoved her away when she tried to regain her hold, squeezing her eyes shut as she ran away, until she slammed into the someone's abdomen. Her eyes snapped open as she glanced up, meeting the face of Luke, who brought his hands up to hold onto her shoulders.

Clementine tried with all her might to escape his grasp, knowing he'd only try to convince her to stay from Lee for the night, but his hold only tightened the more she pulled away. Soon, he was picking the girl up and throwing her small form over his shoulder, carrying her away, farther and farther from Lee.

"No please!"

_"You can't let him leave me!"_

_"I don't want to be alone!"_

She shrieked, louder and louder, begging him to let her down, going as far as to tell him she hated him. She punched Luke's back and kicked at his ribs, hoping to hear a yelp of pain, a grunt, a growl, anything. Yet, he didn't react and before long, her body had slumped over his shoulder. The tears on Clementine's cheeks went cold as her breathing slowed.

She was ashamed, she felt so stupid, so over the top and dramatic, she never expected herself to be in such a situation, but in the heat of the moment, like a puppet under someone else's control, she had. She was still fearful, very much so, but much more in control of her emotions, she didn't know what had come over her back there.

Her eyelashes fluttered, her outburst had depleted most, if not all of her energy, but she still held back from sleep.

"Luke…?" She whispered gently, breaking the silence.

She knew he heard her, he still took his time with answering. "Yes, Clem?"

"I'm sorry…"

Before she could get an answer, she had succumbed to her exhaustion and was fast asleep.

* * *

Luke finally spoke. "If you promise not to run away, I'll let you down."

There was no response, he swallowed thickly.

"Clementine?" He shook her form lightly.

Once the sound of soft snoring reached his ear, he ever so gently brought her onto the ground, trying not to wake her as he carried her in a more comfortable bridal style instead, her body nearly weightless in his arms.

He tried his hardest, but he couldn't hide the guilt that overwhelmed him, when he and Nick had heard her screams on their way to their rooms, Luke assumed the worst. Luckily, once he had rushed from his room and down the hall to where she was, she was unharmed, but her crying and screaming still shook him to the core. He was still for awhile, in shock by the little girl's sudden vulnerability. Nick called her out almost immediately but Pete was quick to put him in his place, after that she pushed Bonnie away and haphazardly ran into him.

Looking back on it, he should have hugged her, comforted her, that's likely all she needed. However he knew the danger she was causing by making a scene, if Carver were to stumble upon them, she as well as everyone there was sure to get in loads of trouble. More than just yelling, the leader was already pissed with their entire situation, he had the bruises to show it.

He knew he couldn't let that happen, to Nick, to Pete, to Bonnie and definitely not Clementine. Luke prayed that a child would be the one thing Carver would have some compassion for, if anything.

She said she hated him. It was a little embarrassing to realize how sensitive he was to the opinions of a little girl.

Luke was able to pull a few strings, if 'pulling a few strings' meant convincing a lovestruck Bonnie, to get Clementine in a room with a few familiar faces. Those being Sarah and Rebecca.

Still carrying Clementine, he shifted around to weakly knock on the door and was quickly greeted by Rebecca's gaping face.

"Is she okay? What happened?" She questioned as Luke walked past her and placed the girl's small frame onto the bottom of the bunk bed, Sarah sat atop it and rose from her lying position, leaning off the edge to get a peek at her new friend.

Looking down at her, he could see the lines of dried tears running down her scarlet tinted cheeks, leftover teardrops still laced in her dark eyelashes, her hair and clothes disheveled, he could understand their concern.

"She panicked once they tried to take her away from her...guardian, I think she was having an anxiety attack…"

"That's terrible…" Sarah uttered.

Rebecca sat on her bed, across from Clementine, slouching as she frowned at her. She gnawed at her lip, seeming to think of her words carefully. "Did Bill…?"

Luke shook his head. "No. I...I picked her up and brought her down before anythin' bad could happen, she fell asleep 'long the way."

Rebecca's mouth twitched into a smile, the rush of relief clear on her face. "Yeah, of course, Bill would never-"

She didn't continue. The farm boy folded his arms, a chill going down his spine from both the unheated room and the thought of the lengths their leader would go to reinforce the community's rules. "I'm kinda worried."

"I'll try to look out for her," Rebecca assured. "I had a hard time being separated from Alvin on my first day too, I can barely imagine what it must be like for her."

Luke ran his fingers through his hair, memories shuffling through his mind. He along with Pete, Nick and his mother, Margaret, were just a handful of the very first to work along Carver to create the community that was Howe's Hardware. It was just the very beginnings and many still had faith in the world returning to normal and with that, a fair amount of trust in fellow survivors. All there was of Carver's group was Tavia and Troy, who had previously worked in the hardware store part time. The fences were more secure than anywhere Luke had been before, large spaces made into makeshift bedrooms, more than enough for his group as well as Carvers.

Carlos and Sarah were when their small group really started becoming a community, the father and daughter had been traveling across the country in their family van when Luke had come across them one evening. Searching for gasoline but all in all coming out unsuccessful, his daughter had clumsily impaled her leg in the process. It became clear to him then as the Hispanic man went into full parent mode and pulled out all the medical supplies he had to heal his daughter's injury, he was a doctor. The girl screamed in pain as Carlos stitched her wound, lurkers coming out from all sides only moments later. Luke fought against each and every lurker effortlessly, earning their trust and with a little convincing, bringing them into their group.

A few months later came Alvin and Rebecca, brought in by Tavia. It was obvious that Alvin had most to do with them being there because Rebecca was as stubborn as ever, beyond reluctant to communicate with anyone other than her husband, but leave it to Margaret to be the only one able to befriend the woman.

It was great then, at least as great as it could be. More faces had started coming in at such a fast rate, Carver was desperate to see his group grow, no matter what consequences it could bring and  _oh how it brought consequences_.

"Luke, I know you mean well but this isn't good for you."

Rebecca's words snapped him out of his thoughts, Luke turned his gaze away from Clementine. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean." She stole his eye contact and kept it, her almond orbs piercing into his. "You can't make yourself responsible for everyone, that's insane, even Bill doesn't worry about everyone as much as you."

Offended, Luke's face pinched, he responded defensively. "You can't expect me not to be worried about a child."

"I understand being concerned for a little girl in these circumstances but you do this with everyone, Luke."

When they had first met she threw insults at him left and right, mostly teasing him for his southern accent, he persisted nonetheless at making her and her husband feel welcome.

Even if he felt as if her worries were coming from nowhere, he was grateful nonetheless, smiling warmly at her. "You ain't gotta worry bout me, Bec."

She said nothing after that, giving him a quiet and tired goodnight before settling back into her bed. Wishing Sarah a good night, he watched as the teenager went on a tangent as she said her goodbyes to him, leaving him standing there for at least five more minutes than he had originally intended, but his smile never dropped.

Before leaving, he took a blanket and placed it over Clementine, her baseball hat barely poking out of the sheets.

* * *

The next day, everyone was put to work. Clementine included. The redheaded woman from last night had come to wake her from her slumber and soon she was reunited with Luke. She was evidently worried, sweat on her brow and eyes wide. Luke tried his best to console her, swearing he'd look out for her.

They entered the greenhouse. "Today we're harvesting. We got some broccoli and peppers that are ready for picking."

Clementine nodded quietly as he guided her to another side of the greenhouse, Clementine hadn't seen a garden in years. Memories of sitting atop her treehouse, peeking through her door to observe her mother water their flower garden well humming cheerfully came to mind.

Luke circled a small garden of budding broccoli plants. Surrounded and hidden in large leaves was a big, bowl sized plant of broccoli, that Luke grasped. "If you see a big plant like one of these, feel it, it should be tight and compact." He let go of it for a few moments and gestured for Clementine to touch it herself, the plant was firm in her hands.

The young man pulled a pair of garden shears from his back pocket. "To harvest, you just gotta get it at the stem, right at the base." The garden shears opened as they began to cut at the plant, with a couple of snips it finally detached, and was held gently in his hand.

Luke pointed at the pot next to it, it mirrored the other plant he had just picked from, except being smaller in size, with small yellow flowers sprouting from it. He pointed at them. "This plant is smaller than the other as you can see, but when you see these little yellow buds, you harvest em regardless of their size." He handed her the shears, "You try cuttin' this one off and be patient, it may take a couple cuts till it's off the plant."

She was hesitant when opening the shears, as she shakily brought the tool to the stem of the plant, right where Luke had shown her before. With a few uneven cuts, the broccoli head dropped from the plant on to the table, where Luke caught it before it could hit the ground.

"Be careful, I know you're a lil' short to be able to grip em' as you cut but at least be ready to catch em' once they fall," Luke instructed.

Clementine covered her mouth as she let out a yawn. "Okay."

He smiled, taking notice of her drowsiness. "Sorry to have you up so early, broccoli tastes best harvested when the soil is cold"

"You know a lot about gardening for a guy," Clementine said bluntly.

Luke badly faked an offended expression, crossing his arms as he spoke. "Are you saying  _guys_  can't  _garden_?"

She paused. "No."

"I went to school for agriculture, ya know?"

She raised a brow. "They teach that?"

"Yeah, yeah they do."

"My mom used to garden." It was a mumble, more of a thought said aloud than a contribution to their conversation, but she caught the way Luke's facial expression changed.

Things went quiet for awhile after that, Luke still hovering around her for most of his time, only leaving for less than ten-minute intervals and warning her every time he did so. She could see him constantly glancing at her from the corner of her eye, but ignored it as she focused on the job at hand.

Curiosity got the better of him. "Where...uh…" He cleared his throat, "Where are your parents?"

"In Savannah somewhere."

He was sniping at one of the broccoli plants beside her, waiting for her to continue. "Savannah?"

Clementine felt waves of energy surge through her, it'd been so long since she had been asked about her family or her life from before. At least it started that way, but as she began to explain, she remembered why Lee stopped bringing up her parents so long ago. "Yeah, they were on vacation there, before all of this. They had a babysitter take care of me, when all the walkers started showing up...she locked us in the house. She left to look for people but when she came back...she had a bite on her leg."

Luke frowned. "So she turned into one of them?"

She gave a quiet nod. "She attacked me so I ran into my treehouse and stayed there for a few days...Lee came into our house one day, calling for help, he found me. He promised...that he'd take care of me." It was only a year ago but it felt like such a long time ago, nevertheless she could recount the memories vividly, the horror and betrayal of her babysitter turning around and chasing her across the yard, the chill that went down her spine when she shuffled around her treehouse trying to sleep, the quick beating of her heart when Lee first entered her property. "...I miss them."

Luke nodded in understanding. "I'm sure you do. My parents still come to my mind every single day."

She started to cut at one of the broccoli heads. "I want to go to Savannah one day and find them."

Luke's eyebrows rose. "They're...alive?"

"Of course!" Clementine cried, pulling back her shears, the broccoli barely hanging off the stem. "They're survivors! They fight! Just like you and Lee. I know they're out there...somewhere."

His expression softened, looking down at the small girl sadly, seeming to understand the meaning behind her words now. He didn't pry any longer. "You, uh, look like you got everythin' handled over here. I have some herbs I have to get to, so call me whenever you need me, alright?"

Clementine watched his back as he retreated. "Okay…"

* * *

Regardless of Lee's paranoia and caution, Howe's Hardware was a nice place. Lee and Clementine would have already been confronted with multiple walkers, as well as bandit attacks, had they still been in their old camp in the middle of the forest. Within the walls of Howe's, time passed rapidly, it wasn't long until they came to the realization that they were almost a month into their life at Howe's.

Even with being given one of the most dangerous jobs of working construction outside their walls, with the hammering of nails and cutting of wood sure to draw walkers to them, or 'lurkers' as most of the community had taken to calling it, he had come across few. All of which were easy to advert, especially when there were other people working alongside him.

He had adjusted to the place and the people around him. Luke tried his hardest to keep updated with Lee and Clementine, visiting either of them whenever he had time. Lee wasn't sure whether the man was super friendly, or if watching over new recruits was standard protocol. Either way, he had to admit, he enjoyed the young man's company.

Most members of the community ignored both of their existences. Carlos and Sarah were always friendly to him whenever they crossed paths, and thanks to Sarah's interest in Clementine's friendship, Lee always had a place to go whenever lunch came around.

Nick always seemed to be around, he followed Luke like a mosquito. Whenever there was a Luke, there was a Nick. The only way Lee and Nick would be able to get away from each other is if one of them dropped Luke, Lee wasn't willing to do that, he didn't think Luke would even obey his request if he did ask. Shockingly, neither was Nick, and Lee became all the more aware how attached he was to him as time went on. They came to a silent truce of some kind, neither speaking to the other unless necessary.

Lee had taken a liking to Pete, whenever he felt rage bubbling in Nick, he was sure to silence it, and Lee appreciated that to no end. They both often got assigned to construction and Pete was an easy man to work with, they had a lot in common and were a good team.

Rebecca showed up at their table more and more, complaining about her husband, Alvin and his friends, George and Doug. From what she had to say about them, they were all obsessed with electronics, and putting them in a room together was a dork fest she couldn't handle.

Luckily, most of Clementine's health had been restored and Lee was beyond thankful, the child was more radiant than ever. In the walls of the community, her outgoing and social side was allowed to be on full display. The only downside to it, Lee saw her much less than usual. She worked in the greenhouse, which left them separated the entirety of the working day, Luke and Sarah probably saw her more throughout the day than he did. Although happy to know she had familiar faces around, he couldn't help but feel envious.

The recollection of his last couple weeks came to a halt when the brunette woman beside him began obnoxiously hammering a nail into a panel of their fences. Lee whipped his head around to her and narrowed his eyes, even if he wasn't spared a glance, he couldn't get the feeling out of his head that she had done that on purpose.

Carley wasn't assigned to construction often, at least not from what he could see. However, when she was, they both kept their distance. Pete wasn't there to distract him from her presence today, which left them side by side, awkwardly silent. With his many years of teaching experience, he was well aware of the damage rumors could cause, and from the words of his friends, he knew Carley had many. Always alone, talking to no one but Carver himself, he often fought back to go against his friend's wishes to befriend her, not that he should expect much.

Earthy eyes glared at him. "Are you just going to stand there well I do all the work or are you actually going to make yourself useful?"

Taken aback by her accusing tone, Lee picked up the saw he had long forgotten on the ground and got to work on a piece of wood. He made the mistake of facing the wall rather than the open space behind him, an open space that had unknowingly begun to fill with walkers.

At least until one of them grasped a rotting hand onto the collar of his shirt and dragged him onto the ground. His vision blurred when the back of his head hit the surface, blinking up at a slack jawed walker as it leaned towards his neck.

One of his hands tightly grasped the walker's shoulder, pushing the rank body away from him as the other went on a search for the gun in his back pocket, only to find it missing and in the hands of his female construction companion, not the slightest bit of worry or fear crossing her features.

For a second…just a second, he thought those sweet chocolate irises married with lighter hues would simply stare and watch as the walker's gums dug through the tender flesh of his neck. Her expression, as always, never changing, not unless she wanted it to.

That thought was silenced by the gunshot that echoed through the area and the sting he felt on his cheek, soon accompanied by a warm, thick liquid running down his face. Blood. She had not watched him die, yet had openly shot through the head of the walker above him, she could've shot his face off and he was sure she was aware of that.

He threw the walker off him and placed his large palm over the slice of his cheek, his expression absolutely livid. "What the hell is your problem!?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"

"You could've killed me!" He shouted, "a-and pickpocketing my gun? How long have you had it!?"

"Since this morning. I don't trust you with a gun."

The words came out before he could stop himself. "If Carver can trust me with a gun, I think his slave can too."

Lee reacted more to his own words than Carley had, his face twisted in pain at his own misstep, automatically regretting his words. He was sure the rumors retold by his friends had drifted by him, that they hadn't truly affected his thoughts on her, he truly believed that. His outraged words proved him wrong however and he was left guiltily staring at the blank faced woman.

She scoffed. "I knew it. Only a matter of time."

Lee stood up slowly. "I'm sorry, just nearly getting...it really...I-I shouldn't have said that."

"It's fine."

He continued. "I promise that I don't...judge you or anything for-"

"Judge me, don't judge me, I don't give a shit what you think," the words come out surprising calm despite her word's insulting meanings, "-and tell your friends that too."

Even if he could have given her a response, he wouldn't have had one. Behind him came the shuffling of running feet coming towards them.

"Who the fuck is shooting guns around here!?" Troy yelled harshly, his face as stiff as usual but his eyes stayed on Lee, almost as if he had already made his decision on who would take the blame.

Carley raised her hand, his handgun barely hanging off her fingers. "I am."

Lee exhaled shakily, his eyebrows rising at the brunette's fearless admittance, it was pretty damn obvious that Troy had suspected him long before he was given any information on the events, she had no reason to surrender then. Every single action she performed left him even more lost and confused, her personality felt impossible to pinpoint.

Troy's dark eyes switched from him to the slim woman standing beside him, his lips parting ever so slightly to expose the yellow tinted teeth grinding together with rage. "Are you trying to bring a herd our way!? You stupid bitch."

It went quiet then, she placed the gun on the ground gently and rose her hands, her attention not moving away from the enraged man in front of her.

Lee could feel the menace in the grin that curved on Troy's lips.

"I'd send you over to Bill but he was pretty busy last I saw him, I think he'd be fine with me figuring out what to do with you this time 'round." He said smugly.

"What exactly would that be?"

For the first time since he had first stumbled upon the scene, Troy's attention went to Lee. "Go to Carlos and deal with that gash on your cheek."

What felt like for the first time ever, from the corner of his eye, he saw Carley flinch. It was only for a moment, she had returned to normal seconds later but it was there. He saw it.

* * *

People said that the apocalypse made everyone evil, and maybe it had. Losing those you love was hard, having your entire view on the world change with no sign of return was hard. But people have always been like this. To Lee, the world in this age was the rawest and honest it's ever been. Laws were gone, police were gone, in societal terms, people were free now. Too free.

Lee stirred his oatmeal absentmindedly, with so much work to be done, there was no time for a break in the lunchroom. The sun beamed down on the back of Lee's neck as sweat dripped down his brow. All of a sudden, the soggy oatmeal was becoming unappetizing to him. Yesterday the hardware store was hit by a large horde of walkers. Fortunately, they didn't break through, but their defenses had taken a considerable amount of damage. If they weren't fixed immediately it would leave them vulnerable, so Carver put more workers than usual to work outside.

He, Pete, Carley, Doug, Wyatt, Shel, George and even Sarah were sent out despite at least a quarter of the group never having done construction for the hardware store before. He was pretty sure Sarah hadn't ever touched a hammer in her entire life. Lee and Pete had tried their best to instruct her on hammering nails and sawing planks, but after a close call of her nearly sawing off her thumb, they gave her the simple task of watching and alerting them if she saw anything suspicious heading their way from the woods.

"Could you hand me a nail?" Came the quiet voice of Carley.

The tension from before still hung in the air, however, something about the atmosphere shifted in a way Lee couldn't describe. It seemed everyone else working with them could sense it, the group was unusually silent, Lee couldn't get much more from Pete other than a few small comments. He wouldn't call himself antisocial but he wasn't going to attempt to pull a few words from any of the other workers, who he was unacquainted with. Instead, he concentrated on his work and thoughts.

Long nimble fingers reached towards him, his calloused hands just barely grazed her skin as he placed the nearly rusted nail in her palm.

"You shouldn't have acted out yesterday," Carley whispered to him.

Lee's frown deepened. "What should I have done?"

"You should have gone to see Carlos like Troy told you to. Do you know how much shit you're probably in right now?"

Lee ignored the sting that burned once his hand made contact with the tender flesh of his scabbed over cut. Without Carlos's treatment, he felt that it was still healing quite well.

Troy's grin that day would likely be seared in the back of his mind, behind the simple expression were a million words and a million implications. All of which definitely wasn't good. Lee wasn't going to stand for it, he couldn't.

"I don't regret a thing."

Carley swung her hammer as she nailed down the wood of the fence. "I don't need your help."

"I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I walked away from that."

* * *

_Listen here, you little shit." The memory of Troy's sharp words echoed in his mind._

_Lee wordlessly took another step towards Carley, his defiance was on full display._

_The guard scowled and rose his rifle. "I swear to god if you don't move your ass!"_

_Lee caught the side of his mouth in his teeth and bit down. He'd be lying if he said he didn't question himself then. He wasn't sure whether or not shooting at him would be permitted, though Troy looked enraged enough to pull the trigger either way._

_Lee finally spoke. "Who do you think you are? Fuck you."_

_Surprisingly Troy dropped his rifle back to his side,_ however,  _the younger man was shoving him away before Lee could feel any relief._

_As he stumbled back, the consequences of defending himself flashed through his mind, but when Troy's fist connected with his jaw, his choice had been made for him._

* * *

Lee was incredibly lucky that Pete was the first to stumble upon the brawl, even if he wasn't afraid to show what little tolerance he had for either of their actions. He pulled them apart forcefully, ranting about how lucky the two were that he was the one to have found them, as well as how childish and idiotic the two were acting. He searched for Carley but found that she had vanished from thin air shortly after the fight had begun, that might have been for the best.

They said nothing to each other as they went their separate ways, their confrontation caused nothing more than a few bruises, Troy's glare, however, gave Lee the haunting feeling that so much more damage had been done that day.

Turning her back to him then, Carley gave up on their conversation and continued her work.

She was right, he was going to be in shit.

But to him, Troy was one of those people who were truly evil to the bone, evil before the apocalypse and just as evil after. Every hit, every kick, Lee would never want to take it back.

"Lee!" The man in question turned to see Nick taking booming strides toward him, the look on his face wasn't promising. "What the actual fuck is wrong with you!?"

His dark eyes narrowed. "Calm down."

"You tell Carver to send a little girl out?! Are you trying to get her killed?"

That caught his attention, Lee stood from his crouching position, seeing faces of the other workers glancing between him and the younger man from the corner of his eye.

Pete approached his irritated nephew, making an effort to keep he and Lee a fair distance away from each other after the events he witnessed yesterday. "What's going on here?"

Nick pointed an accusing finger. "He let Carver send Clementine out on today's supply run!"

He raised his brows then, sure the man was simply jumping to conclusions. He had never allowed such a thing, other than announcements, Lee had not even seen Carver since their first meeting. If anything, the teacher had been avoiding him since yesterday, Troy was one of Carver's most trusted allies, if word of their fight were to reach the leader Lee was sure he'd be the one to blame. Lee didn't know Carver well enough to predict how he would deal with the situation, but he was sure it wouldn't be anything to look forward to.

He had no doubt that Troy was twiddling his thumbs somewhere, trying to figure out how to enact his revenge on him. It was quite comical really.

Everything clicked then. "Where is she!?" Lee said abruptly.

"The truck is leaving in like two mi-"

"Take me to her."

"Why should I-"

 _"Take me to her."_  He commanded.

"Do it, Nick." Pete cut in.

They ran, Nick was too slow, if he weren't leading the way Lee would have long passed him by now. Troy could insult him, humiliate him, beat him, kill him, but to bring Clementine, a ten-year-old girl, into their problems was low.

He wanted it to be a misunderstanding, he truly did, but when he and Nick finally snuck into the parking lot and watched as Clementine stepped into the van, her body shaking and eyes wide, it was obvious that it wasn't.

Lee lost every bit of oxygen left in his body right then.


	4. Impunity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Panic sets in as Clementine goes on her first supply run.

**For Her Future:**

Chapter 4: Impunity

* * *

 

If there was one thing he hated, it was how guarded everything was around Howe's Hardware. What a task it was for both him and Nick to just enter the parking lot, judging by the fear and caution the younger man showed well maneuvering the hardware store, the guards with guns in hand must have been willing to take any measures they needed in order to keep them from exploring where they mustn't. Lee didn't understand, he had every reason to want a chance to at least see Clementine before she was forced into one of the most dangerous situations of her life. He shouldn't have to be sneaking around for something as simple as a goodbye. It could very well be the last time he'd ever- the last time he'd see her in a long time.

Nick did not speak, clearly reluctant to go this far for the former teacher, if it weren't for Pete, he was sure Nick wouldn't have given him the luxury. Lee wouldn't pry for a conversation, he thought about it a few times, he needed a way to calm his nerves, he wanted to vent, but he held back, knowing Nick would only become irritated and possibly turn back. He instead took his worry out on his fists, clenched so tightly, his fingernails dug so far into his palm it was almost drawing blood.

And now, as he and Nick hid in a grassy area beside the parking lot, watching the ten-year-old stiffly make her way into the supply van, he wanted to scream.

He lunged forward. "Cle-!"

His outcry was silenced by Nick, who covered the older man's mouth with his hand and pulled him back.

"You really are fucking insane, you know that?" He hissed, letting go of him.

"They're going to get her killed!" Lee whispered harshly. "If it wasn't already obvious I didn't allow this!"

Nick's face contorted for a moment, his fury subsiding only slightly, Lee wasn't used to seeing him with an expression that wasn't aggravation, he was unsure what emotion he was conveying, nor did he care. "I don't care if you did or didn't! You're going to get the both of us in so much shit if they realize we're out here! She's going to have to go whether you like it or not."

He watched as Clementine hesitantly shut the door of the van, she was almost gone. "At least let me say goodbye! Please." He was begging at this point.

Nick's face pinched with panic, his oceanic eyes searched the surrounding area as if trying to find a way out of the situation. Lee fought back the urge to punch him in the face at his apparent lack of empathy, but after what that had become of his situation last time he chose to get physical with someone, he decided against it.

The younger man put his index finger and thumb in his mouth and produced a quick melodic whistle.

With brows knit in confusion, Lee turned back to the truck, expecting to hear the sound of the engine starting, but instead, he heard the click of the passenger's seat door opening.

A large middle-aged man exited the vehicle, speaking to someone inside quickly before shutting the door and heading towards the two. Squared glasses framed his small, earthy eyes which regarded the both of them benevolently. He appeared good-natured and Nick seemed calmed by the man's oncoming presence, raising Lee's hopes of fixing the screwed up situation he'd made for himself.

The man, similar to Nick and Lee, hid from the sights of the van and crouched down near them. "What's wrong?"

Nick's speech was rushed. "Alvin, can you get that little girl in the van and bring her over here?"

Alvin. The husband Rebecca complained about on a constant basis. Lee had never seen him in person, but he was almost exactly as he would have imagined. His thick eyebrows shot up. "What? I can't-do that! I could barely convince Troy to let me out!"

Lee scowled when the name reached his ears, questioning himself on whether or not to confront the soldier in question right then and there. He didn't care what the consequences would be, even if that meant he and Clementine being kicked out, as long as she stayed with him, at this point he felt she might just be safer, despite the supplies Howe's hoarded.

"My name's Lee, that's my girl in there."

The conversation suddenly began to turn ordinary. "Oh, nice to meet you, I'm Alvin, sorry about uh, your daughter."

Usually he'd refute anyone who called Clementine his daughter, it made the little girl uncomfortable at times, still holding her real father very dear in her heart, but he was far too anxious. "Is there really no way you can get her out here?"

Alvin shook his head. "I'm sorry." His expression soured. "I can't believe Carver would assign a little girl to a supply run. T-That's just...not right."

"Luke's supposed to follow you guys with the hardware truck in a couple hours, right?" Nick cut in. "Fucking hell, wait till he hears this."

"J-Jesus, do you have to tell him? You know how he and Carver can get…"

"He's gonna find out either way! Sooner or later."

"I just don't want something bad to happen."

Lee thought to ask what the hell they were talking about, but he remembered how adamant Luke was to keep him out of the loop, especially when it came to their leader, Alvin and Nick probably stood with him on that. Instead, he took note of their words. Luke and Carver? He knew there was something destructive going on there, he really did wish the friendly man wouldn't try to hide it from him. If the guy was willing to send a ten-year-old girl out to die for her guardian roughing up some asshole, then he wouldn't put it past him to make Luke pay for bringing him and Clementine there without permission.

Lee swallowed the lump stuck in his throat and took a deep breath, ready to do anything to appease to the weary middle-aged man. "Alvin, I know you don't know me, nor do you owe me anything, but I'll do anything if you make sure to keep Clementine safe on the supply run. She has no idea how to fight! She can't make it out there alone!"

A venomous voice Lee recognized all too well shouted. "Alvin! What's taking you so long?! We need to go!"

"Shit, that's Troy." Alvin cursed quietly before calling back to the man. "On my way!"

"Alvin!" Lee whined in an attempt to regain his attention.

"Yes! Yes, I'll make sure nothing happens to her, I promise, it'd be terrible if something happened to her, only known her for a few minutes but she seems...sweet."

He released a breath, his anxiety still weighed deep in his abdomen, but the man's promise kept him satisfied and calm enough not to do anything drastic. "Thank you, thank you so much."

The large man nodded before standing from his crouching position and walking off. "No problem, but I gotta go."

"Later, Alvin, good luck," Nick whispered his goodbyes and was immediately pulling on Lee's shirt sleeve to follow him out of the lot, the former teacher didn't retaliate, but he quickly glanced over the corner to stare at the van longingly.

You'll get through this, Clementine, I know you will.

* * *

Clementine had never once spoken to Howe Hardware's leader, William Carver, he'd visit her and Luke in the greenhouse every once in awhile and more often than not, he'd complain about something Luke had done. He would speak about her as if she weren't there, asking him how she was doing, if she was improving, if she was pleased. She quickly came to the conclusion that she wasn't very fond of him. It didn't happen often, but whenever she met his looming eyes, her skin crawled. She thought of herself as a fairly accepting and friendly person, but she just wasn't able to get comfortable around him, in fact, she felt like the more she was in his presence the more skittish she got.

Earlier in the day, she had been tending to a cabbage patch in the greenhouse alongside a balding man named Reggie, she had a preference for working alongside Luke, who had gained a large portion of her trust, but Reggie had informed her that Luke was going on a supply run for a length of time. Not by any means a bad man, Reggie gave her the impression that, unlike Luke, he felt awkward around children, and her lack of response to many of his one-off jokes and comments probably didn't do much to shift his opinion.

Distracted by her worry that she had overwatered a few of the plants, she didn't notice the brunette young man she had become customary to seeing on a daily basis enter the greenhouse.

She almost dropped the watering can in her hands when he tapped lightly on her shoulder. Once she turned and was able to discern who it was, the corners of her lips tugged into a smile. "Luke! What are you doing here? I thought you were on a supply...thing."

"Supply  _run_." He corrected, lips smirking for just a second before slowly dropping into a frown. "I need to talk to you."

Her expression fell along with him. She executed her best attempt to read his features, the way she noticed Lee would do often when around others. He was very visibly shaky, and Clementine was able to notice the glistening of sweat on his forehead. She walked closely behind him as he made his way into a secluded corner of the greenhouse, unsure what to predict, but knowing it had to be something she wouldn't be excited for. She was very familiar with Luke's optimism, he was already upbeat enough when around the adults like Lee and Carlos, but his cheerful nature seemed to double when he was around younger people, such as herself and Sarah. Not that she was complaining, she had become so accustomed to Lee's honest and tranquil demeanor that she forgot adults could be too overly enthusiastic at all. Luke's typical personality took a total shift that was very hard to miss, and even though she was sure he wasn't meaning to, it made her more fearful then she would like to be. Had something...happened to Lee?

He came to a halt and hesitantly faced her, the hair on the back of her neck stood on end, preparing herself for his words. "Carver wants to see you in his office…"

Her amber eyes widened in confusion. "But...why?"

"I dunno! He told me to go and get you well I was packin' up to leave. I spent the walk here trying to figure it out but...I'm drawing a blank here, kid…"

He paused, lost in his train of thought, and Clementine made a comment to fill the silence. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No! I mean...I don't think so?"

"Is he going to hurt me?"

"No!" He stopped there, as if questioning his answer for a moment, but he stuck with his decision. "No. You ain't done nothing wrong and I know it, he might just wanna…get to know you?"

Clementine raised a skeptical brow.

"Might, emphasis on might," Luke repeated.

She held onto one of her arms timidly. "Can you come with me?"

"Sorry, kid, but no, I need to finish prepping the supply truck."

"Can Lee come with me?"

"No…" Luke's frown deepened as he lowered his head. "Uh...do you know where it is? How bout I walk you there?"

They hurried through the hardware store in a dreadful silence, Clementine could feel a worry burning in the pit of her stomach, the flame only growing as they came closer and closer to Carver's office. She walked slowly, trying to prolong the inevitable as long as possible, but Luke caught her tactic quickly and urged her to 'bite the bullet and get it over with.'

She noticed each guard that would glance her way, the gentleness and mercy she was accustomed to being given by adults was gone, replaced by critical, disapproving glares she wasn't used to seeing, it made her realize just how exposed she really was, and it did not help her nerves in the least bit.

Once they had arrived, Carver's office right above them, Luke bent down to become eye level with her. "There's nothing to be afraid of, just be honest...and polite, just...don't worry." His words are jumbled and drawn out, which clued Clementine in that he really had no idea what he was talking about, but she appreciated his attempt at support and tried to take a fraction of his broken advice.

He gently pushes her toward the stairwell, urging her not to dawdle, Clementine steps felt heavy and deep, almost as if each stair was quicksand, her feet sinking with each and every step she took. She couldn't see it, but she could feel Luke's eyes on her, keeping her from turning back. He made her feel more trapped than she already was, consequently, but also more secure, as if he were guarding her. With that image in mind, she tries to pretend he wasn't going to walk away the second she went through the office door.

It was a bit of a mess, random items that are scattered across shelves and in between corners, Carver greeted her with a wide smile, leaning into his chair in such a comfortable and relaxed manner it made Clementine envious. He wordlessly gestured to the chair across from him, his dark eyes trailing her stiff movements as she walked toward it and sat down.

"Good afternoon, Clementine." He said, leisurely dragging out every syllable of the simple sentence. His mundanity belittling her.

All she can get out is a quiet, "Hello."

He grinned. "Aw, no need to be so afraid, you're not in trouble, sweetie."

She tried her best to appreciate or accept the term of endearment, he was probably just trying to calm her nerves, that's good, right? She couldn't, it felt wrong to her. She sucked in a quick breath and exhaled slowly. "I'm...not?"

"Of course not."

She formed the tiniest of relieved smiles. "Oh, t-then-what is it?"

When Carver ignored her question and opened a folder on his desk, she assumed she had been too quiet to be heard by him, he wrote on it swiftly, the sound of his pen moving against the paper making a soothing sound, like slow waves of water on a shore, dark orbs took quick glances at the young girl across from him as he wrote.

"Clementine." He said with a steady voice, his pen lifting off the paper as his writing came to a halt. "-Do you like living?"

Clementine can't comprehend whether or not she should perceive it as a threat, but there a definite eeriness to it. She nodded, it wasn't even a question for her. "Yes."

The way Carver's smile grew told Clementine her answer had been a satisfying one, or that's what she hoped it meant, Carver's face was either in a grimace or a grin from what she had seen. He smiled at a lot of things, like when Luke had mistakenly cut himself with garden shears during one of those short times they had been under Carver's supervision, distracting Luke as he tried to work by trying to strike conversations with him and standing over him, whispering things to him that Clementine couldn't hear. She had seen far worse than a small cut in her lifetime, but it still made her stomach churn uncomfortably when blood seeped from the deep cut profusely, leaking onto a few of the peppers they were harvesting. Carver hadn't even said a word after that, he just stared, smiling, shaking his head, chuckling.

"Too bad you won't." His voice pulled her out of her memory. "Not as you are now."

"I-"

"But you could, you want to, right?"

Something was...happening, something she didn't have much knowledge or experience with, but she knew it was. She felt as if she had fallen into a gigantic spider web, enveloping and trapping her in its weave.

He continued writing then. "You don't know how to use a gun, do you?"

"...No-"

"Have you ever killed one of those monsters outside?"

"Um, I think so...once-"

"How about a human?"

The idea of that, a chill of fear ran through her forehead to the end of her toes. "No! You don't hurt people, ever! Unless...Unless you have to."

Their eyes meet for the first time, the darkness of his deep brown irises swarming into uncertain amber. "How righteous of you…" he surmised, getting out of his large chair and leaning over his desk as his expression turned into his infamous grimace. "Maybe you should teach your friend a bit about that. Lee, your guardian, beat one of my men, for no reason."

Clementine didn't second guess the man's words to her for a second. "There has to have been a reason he'd do that."

"There wasn't." He stated matter-of-factly. He picked up the file that laid on his desk and gestured with it as he went on. "Listen, I don't hate you, in fact, you aren't really half bad, you're a big improvement to some of the other kids around here. But you were going to have to go through this sooner or later, and with Lee's actions, I've decided to make it sooner."

He gave a pause, giving Clementine a chance to speak, but she didn't. It was so fast and so vague, it was on purpose, a taunt to her innocent mind, words that overwhelmed her as she shook like a leaf in the little chair, standing strong to her conviction. Luke said Carver wouldn't hurt her, Carver said himself he wouldn't hurt her, but the longer he spent staring down at her, the less and less she could believe it.

It all felt like some kind of test. "You don't want to die, do you, Clementine?"

"No..."

"Do you want to live?"

"Yes!"

The door of the office burst open, slamming against the side of the wall with a loud bang. Clementine whipped her head around in response to the abrupt noise. She recognized the man; unkempt facial hair across his chin, ruffled hair and thin stature, the only difference she could notice was the purple and blue bruise around his left eye. Another who she had yet to speak a word to, he had driven the large truck that followed their van on their way to Howe's the first day, he had been there for her break down the same night when she had been separated from Lee for her first time in a year. His name, however, she had no idea.

"Then prove it," Carver ordered.

* * *

The three words that come out of Nick's mouth, once they are in the confines of the hardware store's walls, are ones Lee thought he'd never hear from the young man in his life. "Sorry about Clementine."

Laced with awkwardness, unable to hide the forced tone in his voice, Lee still felt a smile creep onto his face, he supposed it was the thought that counts.

"Who the hell told you something like that, that I 'told Carver to send her off?' You can't seriously believe something like that, can you?"

He groaned, smacking his lips together. "Troy."

"Really, you believed Troy?"

"Well at this point, I know him a hell of a lot better than I do you, so you can't blame me."

Lee ignored the aggressive undertone rising in the younger man's voice. "If you know him so well, then you should know he's an asshole."

Nick's face scrunched up as he rolled his eyes.

As Lee's vision returned to his surroundings, he recognized the aisles that he a Nick snuck across from, the area that was the bulk of the building, and with that noticed that they were not returning to his construction spot outside the walls, they were getting farther and farther from it with each step.

"Uh, Nick?"

"What now?" He whines.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm going to find Luke, you can follow me if you want-or don't, I don't care."

Lee's mouth dropped into a frown, unimpressed by the young man's indecisive behavior. "What happened to you being so worried about getting in shit? Don't you have a job to do right now?"

"I'm in the armory, but Luke needs to know what's going on."

Retrospectively, and despite the advice of Alvin, Lee did agree that telling Luke when they could was both compulsory and unavoidable, if it was true that Luke would be going on the same supply run, he'd want him to be prepared to look out for Clementine, along with Alvin. He knew very little about Alvin, and whether he could really put the little girl's life in his hands, making that promise was more an act of desperation than pure reliance, but knowing Luke was also by her side would put the man at ease considerably.

Even so, them being caught sneaking around was sure to put Lee, and by extension Clementine, in more trouble than they already were.

So Nick gets to risk them so he can meet up with Luke and tell him all the 'juicy gossip', but god forbid Lee want to see the little girl he's been traveling with for a year before she could possibly die.

"Oh, I see..." Lee muttered, preparing to confront the man's clear bias, but his voice lowering in volume with each word, hesitating whether he should continue. For once, he and Nick were on friendly terms, well, if one would refer to their last conversation as friendly. Considering their other interactions, it might be the best the two would ever be able to get.

"See what?" Nick challenged.

"Nothing."

"If you have something to say to me then fucking say it."

Well, there goes those "friendly terms" the two of them were on.

Before Lee could speak, a familiar low voice reached them. "Nick? Lee? The hell are you two doin' out here?" If it weren't for the light southern accent that accompanied those words, Lee would have thought himself a dead man.

The brown eyes of Luke peeked over at them from a corner of the room, a shotgun in his hand as he slowly stepped toward the two men, Pete coming from behind, equally as baffled and concerned.

"Luke. Thank god. I need to talk to you." Nick said, all the agitation Lee had embedded in him fading into relief.

"Jesus Christ, can it wait? You know Carver doesn't like people sneaking 'round."

"-Luke..." Lee cut in, not wanting to prolong their conversation any longer. "Clementine's gone...she's on the supply run you're supposed to be on."

Pete's head shook side to side slowly in disbelief. "Are you sure? Anyone under 16 isn't allowed on supply runs, it's a rule."

Lee hadn't expected his statement to be met with doubt, his face pinched as he continued to speak, not having the energy to convince him. "Then you can get on that supply run and see her for yourself."

Pete's face fell. "For the love of god..."

Luke's eyes widened, his sights switching from Lee to Nick, desperation painted on his features as he started pacing around, it was almost as if he was waiting for the two of them to reveal it as some kind of sick joke. "Does Carver know? Let's look for her, she's gotta be somewhere around here-"

"Luke, he's telling the truth. We saw her." Nick added.

He paused. "T-Then we have to get her, don't we?!" He replied, his voice raised slightly.

"We tried that. She's long gone by now."

Luke's face contorted, changing from confusion to rage to worry, all kinds of emotions filled his features in those few moments. "Fuck...Fuck...This is all my fault."

Nick tried to place a firm grasp on Luke's shoulder, but the man shook away from it and continued to move desperately. "Don't- Luke, this has nothing to do with you."

"Yes! Yes, it does, I-I..."

Lee bit on the inside of his mouth, his teeth nearly splitting the tender flesh. He generally thought of Luke as a harmless man, with how much he has helped the two of them, he felt as if he owed the man a lot. Lee didn't want to imagine what state Clementine would be in if they were still surviving on their own out there, he couldn't even convince himself they'd still be alive at this point.

He still knew very little about him, and even if Lee couldn't imagine the man having any ill intention, there was still a chance Lee was relying far too much on the man. If he was wrong about him...it's a thought that would constantly appear in his head when he laid awake at night, but he always shoved it away, hopeful that there was still good people in the world.

But the way he was sounding now...

Luke's voice dropped as he went on. "I, right before this, Carver asked me to send her over to him."

Lee's eyebrows rose. "-And you did!?"

"I couldn't say no! I didn't think he'd...This is bad, he's not allowed to do this, this is wrong."

"No shit," Lee muttered.

"Lee, I'm sorry I really am."

Despite his paranoia about his trust in their group, Lee could not bring himself to be bitter, or to put the blame on him, no matter how one saw the situation, it was his fault, he fought Troy, one of Carver's most loyal, and now he was paying for it. That was on him, there was no other way to see it.

"Calm down, this is on me, only me." Lee breathed out a sigh. "I fucked up, there's no getting around that, I should've known better."

The three pairs of eyes stared at him, but Luke glanced away quickly, seemingly unable to face the man. Nick's icy eyes blinked at him, his mouth tightly shut in what Lee could only assume was a state of shock.

After spending most of the conversation in an observant silence, Pete finally spoke up, the sympathy that had pooled in his eyes at Lee's admittance turning determined. "Stop with this shit, both of you. This whole thing people keep doing, where they blame themselves for everything, it's stupid, and only makes things worse. If you feel so bad, shut the hell up and do something about it!"

Lee's face softened, his irritated words somehow calming him, Pete, in all matters, always seemed to be the voice of reason. He wished he could have even a fraction of the elder man's intuition.

Luke nodded. "Yeah, yeah you're right. I'm supposed to wait another few hours before I go, but I'm gonna go early, that way I can get to Clementine quicker. I'll make sure she's safe." He turned and surveyed the large area restlessly. "You guys should get back to work... before someone catches the three of you out. If someone does I can be your alibi, tell them I asked you to help me with the truck."

Nick crossed his arms before speaking. "We got Alvin on the lookout for her too."

"She's just a little girl, right? I doubt anyone else on the run is gonna wanna put her in any serious danger, I think she'll make it." Pete concluded optimistically.

Lee tried to force a smile, but he couldn't.


	5. Bite The Bullet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anxiety gets the best of Lee and Clementine.

**For Her Future:**

Chapter 5: Bite The Bullet

* * *

 

"Here, you'll need this."

The chill of the metal met her fingertips as she took hold of the all too recognizable weapon being offered to her. A shotgun, she believed. During her time with Lee, he had always had one in his possession, she feared it at first, but he soon taught her that he carried it for her safety and nothing else. In the wrong hands, it could harm someone, it could kill someone.

Was there such a thing as being afraid of yourself? Because as she held the heavy object in her hand, she couldn't help but be overwhelmed by a burning sense of trepidation.

"Do I have to?" She questioned earnestly.

The young man, with thick wavy black hair that covered the majority of his features, glanced at her from over his shoulder. Vince was his name. "It's for the best, just be careful with it."

The taller man with large glasses, Alvin, came up to stand beside her. "If we're lucky you won't have to shoot that thing."

"...Will I have to shoot someone?"

Alvin frowned, shaking his head slowly. "Don't let your finger touch the trigger, keep it on the handle."

She obeyed, moving her thin finger so that it was now wrapped snuggly around the thick handle of the gun.

When she had sat alone in the humid van, her breathing rushed and urgent as she felt her body begin to quiver with the horror of what was happening, Alvin, Rebecca's husband, had tried his best to be a source of comfort. He reassured her that Lee was completely safe and that he'd make sure nothing happened to her during their time together.

She forced a smile whenever they met each other's gaze, but her anxiety was too prominent to feel any real relief. It was her first time meeting him, and she felt unprepared to put her trust in him, but he was all she had in that moment, she couldn't do it alone. Surrounded by armed and experienced adults, she knew she didn't belong there, she was sure Carver would have known that as well.

It had only been a short walk from their van when they reached a large Walmart store, Clementine recognized the bold sign, she had been forced to visit a store just like this with her parents countless times, she couldn't stand it back then. A lot of the things she had grown up despising, like spiders and clowns, made her want to call out her younger self for being so childish and cowardly.

Russell stayed back to guard their van while the rest of the group followed Troy toward the large shopping center, Clementine purposely slowed her pace so Alvin could walk a few steps in front of her.

Alvin took notice of it, peeking at her over his shoulder, but other than that, made no comment on the action. "So, I may be wrong but, you sleep in the same room as my wife, Rebecca, right?"

Clementine nodded.

He continued, his voice low. "How is she doing? Are you both getting along? Feels like forever since I last had the chance to have a conversation with her."

"She's nice," Clementine said simply. "She's kinda scary, though."

She didn't feel like she knew the woman well enough to give any more details on her, she spent most of her time talking to the adults during lunches, and showed her regular friendliness during the nights in their room. Clementine feared her temper, she tended to snap at her and Sarah if they stayed up too late into the night talking to one another, and was grumpy in the mornings. Sometimes she wished her and Sarah had the room to themselves, so they could spend the night doing what they liked without having to worry about disturbing anyone's rest, but she couldn't say she really minded Rebecca's presence.

Alvin threw his head back as he fell into a deep laughter. "That's my Bec."

Troy turned toward them with a sour frown. "Hey, shut up back there."

Most of the shelves were empty and barren, anything that did remain was layered in mold and produced a disgusting scent that filled the air, from the looks of it, every corner of the area had already been searched for useful supplies.

As they rounded a corner, Vince began to speak. "This doesn't make any sense, Bonnie and Carley scouted this place two days ago and said there was more than enough supplies."

"Someone probably got the jump on it before us." Alvin theorized.

Troy, who was lengths ahead of the rest of the group, stood by a small wooden bin of what looked to be canned food, but when he grasped one of the metallic cans into his hand, he soon threw it into the ground in vexation. It hit the ground with an echoing 'clang' and slowly rolled till it hit Clementine's shoe, the lid was gone, and the inside of it showed nothing but silver walls of metal. It was empty.

"Or maybe Bonnie and Carley are just fuckin' idiots!" He accused, stomping forward to the rest of the group. "What a waste of my time!"

"Troy, relax." Vince's hand reached toward Troy's shoulder, but he was quick to be shrugged off as Troy stared down at a wide-eyed Clementine.

Clementine took a step back, trying to distance herself from the tall, thin figure that stood over her. After glaring down at her for what felt like forever, the deep lines of aggravation that dug into his face seemed to weaken ever so slightly.

He groaned before walking. "Alvin, Bring the girl outside with Russell. Me and Vince are gonna give this place one more look around."

She was thankful, the stuffy air of the building was suffocating to her, and the intimidating glint in Troy's eyes that reminded her of Carver's words didn't help in the slightest. When her gaze met Alvin's, he nodded toward the opposite way. As he moved forward, she hurried her step to follow him.

* * *

By afternoon, words of Clementine's departure reached every end of the community. Every single day, Lee noticed the unrecognizable gaze of passerby, all of which are mixed with judgment, indifference, and even sympathy. His short time there couldn't stop him from making a reputation for himself, with both his retaliation against Troy and the drama surrounding Clementine. And to think, he had hoped he and Clementine would be able to fly under the radar.

He needed answers. Someone couldn't be psychotic enough to send an innocent little girl out to die, there had to be some reason.

Rebecca offered her theory. "He...maybe he was hoping she'd learn to fight and defend herself?"

He, Rebecca, Carlos, and Pete had been discussing the situation since lunch started, after a couple minutes of complaining about Carver's actions and letting out their worries for their loved ones, they finally started to get technical about things. Carlos claimed that he believed Clementine's inclusion was a mistake made as a result of Carver's stress, or that the decision was made on impulse without a second thought. Rebecca agreed, Lee didn't, at all. His irritation swells like a pot of water about to boil over, bewildered by how passive and easy to forgive they were about such a complicated situation. It almost seemed as if they were defending him.

Carver couldn't think this was helping her, could he? It's the only conclusion that made sense to him, but even then he felt himself get chills at the idea.

He stood from his spot, not in the right mental state to be having such a conversation, he needed some fresh air.

"Lee?" Pete spoke from beside him. "You needa breather?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's been a bad couple of days, if you couldn't tell."

"We're sure it has." Rebecca frowned in what he could assume was genuine sorrow. "Don't overwork yourself."

He ignored the multiple eyes that followed him as he left, some of the people he knew, others of complete strangers. he'd become used to the unsubtle observation, he had come to terms with the fact they didn't care enough to hide it anyway, and with that the fact that many of the people in this community didn't seem to share the same friendliness as Luke.

As he made his way out of the cafeteria and into the area split between three hallways, one wide, bright and expansive, that lead to the cash register area, the other the hall where Carlos's office is, as well as a door to the outdoor area. The other side, he couldn't help but look toward there, he hadn't forgotten that odd file he had found in there not long ago. The door, the one at the end that stuck out between all the plain, identical doors at its sides, it was...open?

He inched to it with slow, uneven steps, but the distance between him and the door had barely began to close before he heard steps that didn't match his.

He stopped.

...

...

...

Whipping his head around to catch his follower, he was greeted by the short-haired woman, Carley. He didn't even have the energy to react much more than staring back at her with an arched brow.

"Lee."

He couldn't tell whether it was a question, her tone not indicating much for him, so he simply mirrored her words. "Carley."

"How are you?"

"I'm..." It was probably the simplest and most mundane thing she'd ever said to him, a question he'd been asked nearly every single day since he learned to talk, he didn't know what made him so incapable of answering her in that moment. "Fine. I'm fine. I just was gonna go...get some fresh air."

She took a step back, gesturing to the glass door on the other side of the all. "Well, that's your way out."

It's quite obvious that she's trying to shoo him away, and he doesn't have the energy to form some kind of excuse, nor did he think he'd be able to come up with something to allow him to continue. Leaving his curiosity unquenched, he nods as he brushes past her, her eyes following him.

He can hear the sounds of her steps moving away from him, and soon after, the creak and click as she shuts the double door.

But what he doesn't expect, once he's outside, is Carley following him back there. He's leaning against the wall, and at first, he ignores her presence, assuming she wouldn't be there for him. Once she stands by his side, leaning against the wall like he is and gazing over at him.

He opens his mouth to speak, but she speaks over him. "I'm sorry."

_For what?_

As if reading his mind, she answers that exact question. "What's happening with Clementine right now, I don't agree with it, at all."

"Glad to hear it."

"You getting beat up by Troy, you asked for that, but-" Her crossed forearms seem to stiffen, and she drops her hands to her sides. "Look, I feel bad, for the girl."

"You can blame it all on me, I don't mind." There's a sharpness in his voice most won't see, caused by all the fury that's been swirling silently inside him since Clementine's been gone. He was ready to burst, and he's shocked he hasn't yet.

_"This whole thing people keep doing, where they blame themselves for everything, it's stupid, and only makes things worse."_

He had tried to take Pete's wise words to heart, but no part of him could seem to concede to it. He almost felt like every inch of his mind and soul was rejecting that idea completely, tearing it to shreds within him and distorting it until it looked like something he could agree with.

_"It's your fault."_

"You should." He hadn't planned on adding that, but he couldn't control it.

She let out a sigh. "If I hadn't shot the gun-"

"-If I had watched my back-"

"-If I had told you the lurker was coming-"

They interrupt each other, and Lee finds himself at a loss for words after her confession, could he even call it that? It didn't seem like she wanted to hide it from him.

He feels the features of his face tighten, finally giving a response after a long pause. "So, you  _knew_  that walker was coming up from behind me?"

"I-"

"And you didn't  _say anything?_ "

She groaned openly. "Yes. I did." It's blunt, but there's a tone of melancholy in her voice he doesn't miss.

He can't seem to comprehend it, he isn't sure if he'd want to. He looks away from her, bringing his line of sight up to the cloudless sky above, but in the corner of his eye, he makes note of her actions. Honestly, he hopes that his choice to be silent would cause her to leave him alone, but she doesn't, he doesn't see her head turn or eyes falter from him, and somehow they seem to pull him back to her, it takes everything within him to hold back for as long as he does.

"Do you just fucking hate me or something?"

He thought he saw her eyes widen, but he can't be sure.

"I'm leaving." She announced, refusing to respond. An act of defiance toward him, but he couldn't care less at this point.

The glass door swings open as she walks through it, slamming closed and leaving Lee to his thoughts. Even if he'd wish it'd be different, he was still thankful to finally be left alone, he felt like he was seconds from snapping at someone.

* * *

"What's up?"

"Can't find anything."

"Shit."

_"Russell."_

The two men shifted their gazes to her, the shorter of the two clearing his throat before speaking.

"I mean...Shiz?" He said, looking at her for confirmation.

She had long become used to cursing, so it had taken awhile for her to realize that they were correcting themselves for her sake. Not sure how to react, she shrugged.

"Carver's gonna be pissed." He continued.

"Troy and Vince are giving it another rundown, we just gotta hope tha-"

It was then that the conversation seemed to completely tune out for her, nothing but muffled noises as her eyes caught a sight not far from them.

Amongst the musty terrain, with weak, dying bushes hanging low and drained of their color, she could see a silhouette. Her eyes locked onto it immediately, and all of a sudden, her senses seemed to feel every step the person took, hear every rustle of the leaves that their movement caused. Inhaling sharply, she returned her sights to the two men conversing at her side, appearing as casual as ever. She tried to speak, draw their attention to her, but her throat felt tight and dry, and her body wasn't responding to her.

As it drew closer, she knew for a fact she couldn't just be imagining it. Close enough to see the details now, it looked to be a man, she could see the wrinkles of his jeans and the sleeves of his shirt, rolled around near the elbows.

The heavy weapon in her hand became all the more apparent. She didn't think it would ever manage to weigh her down more than it already was, but somehow it became so easy to raise up above her, just enough that her hands are pointed outwards near her stomach.

"Clementine?" Alvin's voice, she could barely hear it.

Would she even be able to shoot? She had no idea now, she had never been taught. To Lee, it had always been about her defense, her strategies, not...this.

But she knew she had to, no matter the politeness she was shown, she knew none of these men, and she couldn't trust them to protect her in a dangerous situation like this, not like Lee. She wanted to trust herself, she wanted to protect herself, she really did.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Alvin shuffling closer to her, arm extended. "Please put it-"

The loud bang echoed in her ears and produced a high pitched ringing sound she wasn't used to. As her body recoiled slightly, she felt as if all the air she had was pushed out of her in that moment.

She heard the loud cry of pain in the distance. "Jesus, fuck!" It shouted, it was a voice she recognized, and as she watched Alvin and Russell rush to the source, she felt her knees go weak.

It was Luke.

She'd been so caught up in her own head that she had no idea where she shot, but there was no doubt that Luke got hit. Guilt squeezed her heart.

Why did she shoot?

How stupid could she be? Did she really think she was going to help?

When she felt in control of her body again, she ran to Luke, and saw him laying on his side with a bullet wound in his abdomen, covered by his hand as streams of blood leaked between his fingers. Her stomach twisted and she felt the need to vomit where she stood. She thought she had become used to blood, but knowing it was her fault, knowing that she caused it, it was horrifying.

"I-I'm-"

"What the fuck is this!?" Running out of the store, Troy's rifle searched the space around them. His rough voice paralyzed her, and her body trembled helplessly.

"Troy..." Alvin began.

"Jesus, I...shot myself." Luke lied, his breathing heavy and his words barely able to be understood. "I shot myself..."

She couldn't at all comprehend why he'd decide to defend and lie for her. Maybe he pities her enough to look past the fact she had just shot him in the stomach and possibly killed him.

She wanted to tell him no, she wanted to tell him to stop, she wanted to confess the terrible mistake she made. If Lee were in the same situation, he'd take the blame, she knew that, but he wouldn't of let himself shoot at Luke in the first place either.

She wanted to be brave, like Lee would be.

But she can't.

She opened her mouth, and shut it soon after.

"Are you fucking kidding me, Luke? You're gonna have lurkers on us at any second." Troy approached the group, pushing past Russell and Alvin. He smacked Luke across the head swiftly, not a shadow of hesitation in his palm as Luke squeezes his eyes shut, his lips pinching together tightly.

His breathing is so fast and rushed that Clementine thought he'd pass out right then and there, the fury lit up a fire in his eyes. "Don't...touch me."

"I can do what I want-"

"I'm...not afraid...of you."

"You might not be afraid of me." His figure casts a shadow over Luke, and with his injury, Luke can do nothing but stare weakly at the man above him. "-but I know what you  _are_  afraid of."

Luke's resilience went away like a damp towel thrown over a campfire. The bright flame in his eyes dimed into the dark brown that lacked the same power.

"Troy. Stop it." Vince ordered, his tone lacking the strength and authority to make Troy move immediately, but after a few seconds, he finally does. "There are bandages in the van but that's about it, we need to get him in the van and back to Howe's so Carlos can look at him as soon as possible."

Russell turned to Luke, kneeling on the ground. "Where's the bullet?"

"I think it went all the way through."

"Think!?"

Clementine could do nothing but stand there as people rushed around in an effort to help the wounded man on the ground, the man *she* wounded. And before she knew it, tears fell from her eyes without restraint, she'd never hurt someone like that before, and as if it couldn't be any worse, the person she hurt was not even a threat, he was her friend. She sobbed into her hands before Alvin took a gentle hold of her shoulder and guided her away from the group.

She couldn't find it in herself to look up at him, he knew what she had done, he saw her shoot him.

She heard him start to speak, but he was quickly drowned out by the hiss and groans of oncoming bodies, rows and rows of the undead, with decaying grey skin and washed out clothes, came towards them in a familiar slow drawl.

Walkers.

* * *

The first person Lee had ever seen  _eaten_  by a walker was a boy named Shawn Greene. Mere minutes after meeting Clementine for the first time, they had gone searching for help and ran into the two younger men, pushing the cars from the crowded road before being swarmed by an army of walkers.

_With a timid Clementine beside him, Lee took a few steps toward the duo, limping. "Hey! Man!"_

_The panic set in both their faces. "Holy shit!"_

_"Don't eat us!"_

_He had slowed his approach, hoping it would at the very least keep them from running away. "We're not gonna hurt you."_

The men were trusting, maybe in a way that would be seen as ignorant by today's standards. People still held their morals and awaited the military to solve the situation, so that things would go back to how they once were, with rules and laws that kept order and punished those who disobeyed it, such as himself.

_"Thought for a second you and the little one were both gonna give us the chomp."_

He hadn't thought much of the comment at the time, but as he hears it repeated in his head, he can't help but let his face twist. The idea...the  _possibility_  of Clementine becoming a walker, was something that terrified him more than walking dead or delirious men with guns ever would, and with the current circumstances, his mind was all the more sensitive to the thought.

Lee tried to help, he really did, pushing helplessly at one of the cars, but as he turned his head around, he found that a walker had already toppled over the man, biting his neck. The worst part of it all is Shawn's brown eyes stayed wide open, and didn't look away from him, piercing into Lee's eyes the way the walker's teeth pierced into his neck.

A few minutes, that's all it took for everything about the dead man to be imprinted into his mind. He can see him clearly still, even in the simplest of ways, the sound of his voice, the way he stood, the way the color seemed to drain from his eyes as his life left him. After that, he took Clementine and ran, without a destination, just running and running until they couldn't. If there was anything he hoped Clementine would forget, it was that.

He'd offered them a place in his family's farm, but with him lying face first on the ground, his flesh being torn apart and consumed by the walkers toppling over him, Lee had no choice but to grab a hold of Clementine's hand and lead her back into the house they had just come from.

It was those first couple days of the apocalypse he thought about as he laid in the bottom bunk of his shared room, unable to get even a glimpse of what could be considered sleep. He doesn't know the men he shared his room with, someone named Hank and another named Wyatt, both of which snored loudly, fast asleep in their bunks.

After a what could have been an hour alone in his thoughts, the humidity of the room that brought sweat onto his brow got the best of him, and he got out of his bed and left his room. It wasn't typically permitted to leave the sleeping quarters in the night without a proper reason, but that was when Troy regularly patrolled the men's hall in the night, but with him missing, and another man he couldn't recognize in his place, he was free to stroll the halls as he wished.

He sought out a door that would lead him outside, where he could finally relax and hopefully cool down. Even if the man currently in charge of watching the men's quarters at night was tolerant when it came to people walking the halls, leaving the premises or going outside was strictly prohibited, and wasn't gonna slide. Once he found a door that would lead him into an outdoor area, his eyes searched the area around him and found the man standing as security turning the corner and walking into another hall. With the coast clear, Lee tried to push on the door as silently as possible, the sound of the door clicking open subdued by his gentle mannerisms, and after a slow process of opening the door slightly and checking to see if the man would come back to notice him leaving, he was eventually able to walk through the door.

The frigid air hit him, but caused no shiver or reaction from him other than a pure sigh of relief, the sweat washing away with the gentle breeze. He could only walk a few steps forward before being met with a shielded chain link fence that towered above him. It was the only thing that would keep him from escaping to find Clementine.

He heard a tired voice call his name. "Lee?"

"Nick?" He didn't jump or get startled by the younger man's presence, he was too worn out for even that. "Sorry, I didn't know you were here."

"It's cool."

Lee didn't break eye contact with him, and after awhile shifted away from the door to give him a pathway to leave, assuming that was what he wanted, but Nick only folded his arms and slammed his back against the boarded up fence.

He could see the dark shadows layered under his half-lidded eyes, a trait not odd to see on him, but never so drastic. The sloppy way he moved almost seemed as if he had no control over his body, and if it weren't for his disinterest in being any more closer to him than he already was, he could've mistaken him for a walker.

Standing there, observing the young man, his eyes widened as he reached the only conclusion he found plausible. "Are you drunk?"

"Sh!" Nick hissed back. "Not so loud, man."

"How'd you get alcohol? Carver doesn't let anyone-"

"What Carver doesn't know can't hurt him."

Lee shrugged. "Whatever, not my problem."

"Good." He slurred, a half smile rising on his face. "Follow me."

And with not much else to do, and no way of convincing him otherwise, he did. The two seemed to round the building until they came across what appeared to be an old comic book store.

"So it does exist..."

"What?"

"The comic book store," Lee remembered Clementine mentioning something about the place to him, but other than that, he'd never seen it for himself.

"Oh, yeah, but don't get excited, there ain't shit in here but a bunch of trash and some liquor me and Luke stashed away."

What was that? Luke? The same Luke who had brought them here? Purposely smuggling liquor into Howe's? Nick he could believe, but Luke felt like a stretch, he played the goody two shoe act as if he were the star in some kid show.

Nick kneeled down by a tiny vent in one of the pitch dark corners of the room and looked over his shoulder to speak to him. "Hey, there should be a screwdriver near the counter, could you grab it for me?"

He obeyed, heading to the counter near the front door, nothing lit up the store other than the moonlight peering down at them, so he carefully put his hand into the shelves behind the counter, mostly feeling built up dust that stuck to his fingertips and loose change, pennies, dimes, and nickles in spades.

Nick groaned. "The bottom shelf, it's right at the back."

Following those instructions, he was just past elbow's length before he finally felt the abandoned tool touch his palm, and grasped onto it.

"Pass!"

No way in  _hell_  was he gonna toss the screwdriver over to him.

He returned and placed it on the ground beside where he was sitting. Nick gripped onto it and went to work quickly, and even with his drunken haze, he was able to latch onto the screws and unwind them, popping off the vent after a minute or two of fiddling with it. Peeking into it he could see the bottoms of multiple beer bottles, and as Nick picked one of them out, he could see two or so vodka bottles as well.

"Here." He wiped off the dust particles that had caked themselves onto the beer bottle and offered it to him.

He took it gingerly, unsure whether drinking it would be the smartest idea, he hasn't been blackout drunk since his college days, and in the moment, it looked like that was what Nick was on the verge of. Deliberating it, he decided to take a few sips to show his gratitude, if being let into Luke and Nick's secret alcohol stash was something to show gratitude for.

Nick laughed drunkenly. "Soon enough you'll be drunk enough to try and jump the fence."

"Why would I jump the fence?"

"To get out. You wanna get out, right? Isn't that why you were outside?"

"Not until Clementine comes back..."

It slipped out before he could really think about it.

"I...I'm joking. I'm not really gonna-"

"No need to lie, I've been there."

His shoulders slump in defeat, he doesn't even try to defend himself, it would likely dig him into a deeper hole than he had already just put himself in. He could only hope Nick's drunken state would cause him to forget his words, or at least not take it seriously.

He wouldn't be lying if he admitted to thinking of leaving the community after his short couple of months there, with Clementine's situation specifically. He couldn't stand to be forced to let something like that happen again. Yet, it was little more than a thought, a consideration until Clementine's return, which would be soon.

"Yeah..." Lee said.

"Wasn't that long ago actually, a couple months before you came. "Me, Mo-" He paused, his face twisting. "Pete, Luke, Rebecca, Alvin, Carlos, Sarah and our  _big escape."_

"Wait...what? You guys  _escaped?"_

"No, we didn't, that's the best part." He laughed hard enough that he deliriously slammed the back of his head into the wall, and Lee waited attentively for him to continue. "Remember when I whistled? You know? In the parking lot? Sorry, I'm...not explaining this right, but you know how Alvin came out after he heard it? We made that up, it was part of the plan. We thought we would whistle our ways outta this hell hole!" He tried to imitate the whistle from before, but snorted and laughed at his attempts.

"And you got caught?"

"No, we got outta here no problem."

"How...?"

"Cause he knew. Carver knew. One day, before we had even come up with a date to go, he called us to come into the parking lot with him. And he told us to just go." Nick's voice shifted into a tone that mocked Carver's. " _'Leave if you want to!'_ " He told us, _'but I'll get the last laugh when you all come crawling back to me, begging for forgiveness.'_  And he was right, he was so fucking right, we were back a month later, starving to death and in tears. We couldn't live on our own anymore, it sucks but we need him."

Lee shook his head, creasing his brow. "I'm sure you could've managed, even now you could manage if you really wanted to."

"We tried everything, anything to keep us going, but it wasn't enough. When we went back, we were so thin we could barely walk, all of us were skeletons, just like you and Clementine were when we found you. I know you won't wanna hear this,  _but Carver saved you guys."_

_Don't bring that up._

Every fiber of his being prevented him from responding with just that, but it was the most tranquil and tolerant he'd ever seen Nick since coming to Howe's, and he doubted that would stay if he said something to piss him off. Still, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end as he recalled him and Clementine in what might have been their worse state since it all began, but most of all, thinking of how Carver saved them, of how they *needed* him, he felt his stomach twist and flip, and bit on his tongue.

"Luke saved us, Carver has fuck all to do with that."

"I used to think Luke could save me too, but without Carver, even Luke would be dead-"

"Shut up."

"And me and Pete-"

"Shut the fuck up."

"And you and Clementine-"

He heard the sound of shattering glass, and he stood there with clenched fists that shake with fury, and for a moment, it doesn't even hit him that he's the who caused the sound. He looked down from his spot and met the dozens of broken pieces of glass in a puddle of beer near his feet, the jagged edges reflected off the natural light, and shined back at him. All he can hear is his own harsh breathes, Nick had gone silent, staring down at remnants of the beer bottle along with him. He took a step back, gauging Nick's reaction, waiting to see the lines of rage edge deep into his skull.

"I..." Nick's brows furrowed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

Lee didn't say anything, waiting still as the fire within him ceased.

But Nick stayed the same, a look of remorse crossing his features.

"It's okay...I'm...sorry too."

Nick moved to lift himself up, his hand supporting his lengthy body as he rose. It wasn't long before he slipped, too drunk to properly handle his own body weight. His arm slid into the broken glass and he hissed in pain.

"Nick!" Lee stepped closer, kneeling by him. The first he noticed was a long cut that went from his wrist down his forearm, blood dripping out of it as he went to readjust his position. It looked deep, enough for stitches. He cut off a piece of his shirt and wrapped it around the wound, dim red sinking through it quickly. "Jesus...come on...you're way too drunk."

Lee picked him up from under his arms, barely dropping him before the younger man was able to gain a stable footing on the ground. Nick didn't say anything, but he didn't object either, letting his arm wrap around Lee's shoulders.

"The vent..." He slurred.

Lee glanced at the open vent behind him. "I'll deal with that, but we need to get to Carlos, come on."

He couldn't be sure if the man had simply given up on it, trusted him to do as he said, or was too drunk to speak or move, cause other than the slow steps they both took, he did nothing. As the taller man leaned on him, Lee guided him out of the store and into the daylight that began to peak over the horizon. 


End file.
